The Return
by Lalaith Quetzalli
Summary: Sidestory-Companion to Nightingale. A boy with a the powers of a genetically enhanced spider and a wish to use that power for good things; a girl with a genius intellect and bravery and the desire to use those things to aid the boy; an enemy willing to use the bond between them to destroy them both, and the return that saved them all. Peter/Gwen, Harry/MJ Warnings Inside
1. The Boy

This fic follows the story from the "Amazing Spider-Man" film from 2012, as well as the things already stated in the fic Nightingale. However, you will also see my own version of the 2002 film (the one of Tobey Maguire) with the newer Spider-Man and Gwen in the mix. (To those who prefer MJ and especially her with Peter, I'm sorry, but ever since I first saw the ASM I just cannot help but prefer Peter/Gwen...)

The first three chapters are in 1st person POV, each a different one, each adding a piece of the puzzle, weaving the story together (at least that's the idea)... the last chapter will be in 3rd person POV. It all connects either to the movie, things already stated in Nightingale, or the upcoming Encore. Enjoy!

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The Return

_By: Lalaith Quetzalli _

_A boy with a the powers of a genetically enhanced spider and a wish to use that power for good things; a girl with a genius intellect and bravery and the desire to use those things to aid the boy; an enemy willing to use the bond between them to destroy them both, and the return that saved them all. _

**The Boy **

It was all a mess, really. It had been so since I'd moved to downtown New York…Well no, actually, if I was honest to myself, I knew things had gone wrong since before that. Since May in fact. Since she died. She, the heart of our team, a dear friend, almost a sister: Silbhé Salani…

Some things can only be understood by realizing just how abnormal life, and particularly mine, truly is. My name is Peter Parker, for the first fifteen years of life I was pretty normal, except for the part where I was always being bullied, by Flash and any other boy who believed himself better than me just because they were good at sports. Then everything changed…drastically.

I was considered by some a nerd, even a genius, just because I was moved ahead one year while in elementary school. Considering I know someone who finished MIT at seventeen, and another person who got three Master Degrees at nineteen; graduating high-school two months before turning eighteen isn't really that much. The fact that when I was graduated with two best-friends (while I used to have none) as well as a girlfriend (the love of my life: Gwen Stacy) and while secretly being one of New York's Mightiest Heroes: Spider-Man, that was more.

It all began when I was sixteen. For twelve years the death of my parents in a plane crash had haunted me when, unexpectedly, I found a new clue. It was an accident really when Uncle Ben found dad's old briefcase in the basement, while we were supposed to be repairing a pipe…or the heater, I'm not even sure which. The briefcase seemed empty at first glance; but then I found a folder inside, with papers on a research my father was supposed to have been working on around the time of his death. That got me interested, so I began investigating.

My biggest clue was Dr. Connors, the man had been my dad's colleague, and he was working as a scientist at OsCorp in that moment. So I slipped into OsCorp as part of a group there on a fieldtrip… If I had just known all the lasting consequences doing that would have…Well, I wouldn't do anything different, but probably I would have taken a moment to take a deep breath before actually jumping off the edge, figuratively.

It was in that fieldtrip that I first connected the love of my life: Gwen Stacy: daughter of the chief of police, classmate, science genius, and my reason to be the best man I can be. While we may have had classes together, we had never actually talked until that day. She actually helped me, as she noticed I wasn't supposed to be there. We became friends after that.

It was also during that fieldtrip, when I began snooping around, trying to find something related to the project of my dad's that I had read about in those files. I ended inside a room with ten genetically altered spiders. They were supposed to be in sealed glass containers but, somehow, one got out, and bit me…that changed everything.

It was shocking, after feeling so sick that I might die, to wake up and discover I suddenly was faster, stronger, far more agile and with much better reflexes than a normal human; I also no longer need glasses, was healing faster and somehow could pretty much glue myself to surfaces like walls, ceilings and such.

At first it was in good fun. I experimented with my powers, learning more about them. I'd always liked skateboarding, and my new abilities made it even more interesting. I also got my revenge on Flash, more of a humiliation that anything, but still. On the side I was working with Dr. Connors on his regenerative serum…I really should have known there was a reason why my father held back on the missing part of that formula…

Things were going so well…until I was stupid. I was having so much fun, I forgot I had responsibilities, at home, to my aunt and uncle. Then when I was chastised, I got angry and stormed out the house. If I'd never done that, if my uncle hadn't gone after me, worried for me… It was so dark, and our neighborhood really wasn't the safest. There was a robbery, and my uncle… he just wanted to help. He was shot…he was killed…I got there just in time to witness him die, there was nothing I could do.

"_With great power comes great responsibility." _

That was one of the last lessons Uncle Ben ever imparted to me, and the one that has come to mean the most. It's become the bases for my whole life: both as Peter Parker, and as Spider-Man.

After my uncle's death, I went off the deep end. I finished creating myself a suit, then replicated the kind of thread spiders create their webs with, only with the properties to adjust to my size and capabilities. I began hunting down any lead, trying to find the one responsible for Uncle Ben's death. Not only I didn't find him, but I ended up with the police after me, calling me a vigilante, an anarchist…the last one was Captain Stacy in fact, Gwen's father, which didn't help me any, neither as Spider-Man, nor as the boy who liked his daughter.

Then came the Lizard, and my own turning point…The Lizard was causing mayhem in the Williamsburg bridge, I went to stop it. As several vehicles were thrown off the bridge I fired webs to keep them hanging from the bridge itself, not actually bothering to check them in case there was someone trapped. My priority was the Lizard. But then…I heard that man, screaming for someone to help his son, who was trapped in one of the vans. That moment, the instant when I chose to help an innocent instead of persecuting a criminal; it changed me. I think it might have been then that I actually became a hero.

If there's one thing I can be very thankful for, was having Gwen in those first days. She being there, knowing my secret, supporting me…she became my best-friend, my girlfriend, my confidant…my anchor. I'm equally grateful that now, more than a year later, she's still here. I hope she always will be.

I have always known, will always know, just how fortunate I am to have Gwen Stacy by my side. Not only is she beautiful, and intelligent, and brave; there's also the fact that, from the very beginning, she knew exactly what she was getting into with me, and she still stayed. I remember precisely how she said it that night, when I went to her for help with the wounds the Lizard had inflicted on me, a set of gashes that went across my chest. I had no one else I could trust, it had to be her. She helped me, and then we talked…

"_Every day, for as long as I can remember, my father has left every morning and put a badge on his chest, and strapped a gun to his hip." She said softly, almost sadly. "And every day, for as long as I can remember, I haven't known if he was gonna make it home." _

Yes, she knew indeed what she was getting into.

After that came the attack at the school. The first time I actually faced against the Lizard out of my own free will, and not by chance or accident, or anything like that. And I did it, in no small part, for her; because I needed to stop him from hurting her. And really, I must have been crazy, beyond crazy. I mean, a spider, an insect, defying their natural predator: a reptile?!

Gwen didn't like me fighting the Lizard, but if I didn't, who else would? Ok, granted, I'm not the only hero in the states, or even in New York, but the Lizard was my responsibility, because I helped create him. I gave Dr. Curtis Connors the missing algorithm for his formula, the same one my father had been working on. It was until I saw the Lizard, until I understood who was behind its monstrous-image, that I began to realize why my father had kept those things a secret. Still, I had to stop him if I wanted to even begin to make things right.

The fight in the school was interrupted when the police arrived and Dr. Connors decided to leave. I tracked him through the sewers, eventually making it to OsCorp. Really, that day must have been one of the most stressful in my whole life. What with the fight I was involved in, the fact that I'd sent Gwen to OsCorp earlier to get an antidote ready so I could 'cure' Connors (only to later learn he was heading that way, which put her in danger), and then when Captain Stacy decided it was a good night to try and arrest me!

It was definitely one hell of a night. I was forced to reveal my face to my girlfriend's father, then ran away with trigger-happy cops after me, a bullet actually graced my thigh. It wasn't life-threatening, but it certainly impaired my mobility some. Then…the only good part of the night: turns out the father of the kid I'd saved on the bridge operated one of the cranes high on South Manhattan. And he contacted others operators. They all placed the cranes just right, so I could get to OsCorp in time to stop Dr. Connors.

Things should have gone right after that, they should have…Gwen got the antidote ready, she wasn't hurt by Connors, she managed to get the blue serum to her father, who in turn took it to me. Then he worked on distracting the Lizard while I got the serum to the GANALI device (we needed it not only to 'cure' Connors, but also all the policemen who had been infected by him during the persecution through South Manhattan).

So, because everything was supposed to be so well planned, of course something had to go horribly wrong. I cannot even begin to recount exactly what happened. I only know that Captain Stacy did all he could to keep the Lizard off my back, and it cost him his life…I clearly remember the last thing he said to me, the last thing he asked of me:

"_You're gonna make enemies. People will get hurt. Sometimes people closest to you… So I want you to promise me something, okay? … Leave Gwen out of it. Promise me that. … Huh? You promise me." _

He was dying, so I did, I promised him to stay away from Gwen, even though back then I already loved her so much…in the end it was a promise I couldn't keep for very long.

I attended the funeral in secret, not daring to show my face when I still felt so guilty. Even when Gwen went looking for me, demanding the reason why I was staying away from her…even then I kept my silence. Not like she needed me to actually say something, she already knew, or at least could imagine what was going on.

Still, I tried, I tried so very hard to keep my promise. I gave the excuse that I was no good for her, though Aunt May didn't like hearing me say that. I decided that even if Gwen hated me for the rest of her life, at least she would have a life, right? Only, I couldn't imagine what kind of life I was supposed to have without her.

The realization came to me several weeks later, while one of my teachers was berating me for arriving late to her class, again…

"_Sorry, Miss Ritter." I tried to assure her. "It won't happen again, I promise."_

"_Don't make promises you can't keep, Mr. Parker." The woman told me with a sigh. _

_I didn't actually answer her, it's not like she was expecting me to. However, in that moment, I got the irresistible need to say something, one phrase I was quite sure only one person would be able to understand the significance of; a person who was, in that very moment, seated right in front of me. So I leaned close to edge of my seat, and whispered low enough for only her to hear: _

"_Yeah, but those are the best kind…" _

Yeah, I just gave up. It was awful, but there was nothing I could do. In the end, my love for Gwen Stacy was stronger than the promise I made to her dying father…I just hoped we wouldn't end up regretting it one day… In any case, I know I will always do my best to protect Gwen, I know she's no damsel in distress, she can do things on her own; still, doesn't stop me from wanting to protect her as best I can. I shall always do that. I believe together we can do wonderful things, and if it's up to me, we'll be together for a very long time…

Some things changed after my fight with the Lizard. One in particular was my Aunt May. We never talked about it, but I'm quite sure that after that night she knew I was Spider-Man, or at least had very strong suspicions. Still, as she chose not to ask, I also chose not to comment on it. I just hoped if she ever happened to find out outright, it wouldn't be because I died.

Eventually something else freaky just had to happen. Though, thankfully, I wasn't responsible this time. Some sort of alien army attacked New York. I could see there were other heroes like Iron Man and Captain America handling the situation. It occurred to me briefly to approach them and offer my help, but Gwen didn't want me putting myself at too much risk, and I didn't want them to go tracking me down later on. They might like being in the spotlight and what-not, I much preferred my anonymity. In the end it wasn't that hard, I heard the Captain talking setting a perimeter, so I worked on helping them keep it, without showing myself too much. Gwen would have been proud of me.

Later on I learnt Gwen too had been helping, aiding the people evacuating. I nearly had a stroke at that. Still, I should have imagined something like that. Not the kind to sit quietly at home and wait for me to come back, my girlfriend. But then again, that's one of the very reasons I love her so. At least she was alright, we both were.

Time passed, we finished junior year of High School. Gwen and I were together, and she was so supportive, I could have never asked for a better girlfriend. It was on that summer that things changed yet again, when Gwen told me she was taking the option offered to her to graduate ahead of time. She would be taking just a few more classes until December, then graduate (while I would be staying until next June). Even during that Fall Term, she would be spending a great deal of time as assistant to Dr. Bruce Banner, who was said to have recently begun working with Tony Stark in some private projects. I felt bad about not being able to spend as much time with her in school as I had before, but I knew she wanted to make a name for herself as a scientist, and after the mess that had been Dr. Connors, the opportunity of being Dr. Banner's assistant was too good for her to pass up. Of course, neither of us could have imagined where the whole thing would take us eventually.

I should have known, when she told me about the Hulk, about working in the Avengers Towers, that it was only a matter of time before I crossed paths with them.

_Some group of villains had taken Avengers' Tower hostage, which seemed simply ridiculous to me but still. Iron Man was said to be unable to interfere, as the leader had threatened to bomb the whole place up if they so much as got an idea that he was close. So, to help, he was staying standing within range of several cameras so the criminals knew he was out there. The rest of the Avengers, except Hulk and Thor, were standing with some members of what I later learnt was S.H.I.E.L.D., trying to make a plan. _

"_So, what's the plan?" I asked, arriving from behind them. _

_I barely managed to dodge a kick from the redhead known as Black Widow, followed by an arrow shot by Hawkeye. _

"_Hey!" I exclaimed, raising my hands in a neutral stance. "I come in peace!" _

_I heard what must have been Stark's snort through a radio in between them, apparently he was still in communication with the rest of his team. _

"_Who are you?" Captain America asked. _

"_Spider-Man." I answered simply. _

"_We have heard from him all around New York, never been able to track him down…" A woman, whom I later learnt was called Maria Hill, commented. _

"_With all due respect ma'am, I don't work for the government." I said simply. "The closest I've gotten to working with the police was the time they wanted to arrest me so…" _

"_We're not government." The black man with a patch on his eye said in a serious voice. "We're the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division…" _

"_S.H.I.E.L.D. for short." Hawkeye quipped. _

"_I'm Director Nick Fury." The man finished. "We're quite interested in you Mr…Spider-Man." _

"_Something tells me, Director, that you have information about me I would rather you don't know." I muttered in a low voice. _

"_We know who you are." He said directly. "Have known since your involvement with Connors. It was my decision to leave you out of the Avengers Initiative due to your youth. We contemplated issuing an invitation once you had graduated…" _

"_An invitation I wouldn't be able to turn down?" I asked bitterly. _

"_Youth?" Widow asked, eyes suddenly asked. "Graduated what? College?" _

"_High-School in fact." I decided if the Director knew who I was, there was no point in hiding too much. "I am seventeen years old." _

"_You wanted a kid as an Avenger Fury!" I heard Stark yelling through the radio. _

"_Excuse me!" I interrupted. "I'm no kid. I've fought before." _

_That shut everyone right up. _

"_I did not come here to fight you but rather the bastards causing trouble." I told them. "I came to ask what you planned on doing." _

"_We have no definite plan yet." Fury admitted. "We never imagined something like this to happen. Until Stark manages to contact either Banner or at least JARVIS inside, we have no way of coordinating something." _

"_So you're not doing anything!" I blanched. _

_That was enough for me to make my mind, I turned and began walking away. _

"_What are you going to do Spiderboy?" Hawkeye asked. _

"_It's Spider-Man." I corrected coldly. "And I'm going to get you someone inside. If you're willing to risk everyone inside to gain the upper hand, I'm not." _

"_Who do you have inside?" Stark's voice surprised me. _

"_My girlfriend." I answered honestly, and then I was gone. _

The whole thing was a royal mess.

I played a keen whistle I had on my cell-phone, it was the signal for Gwen to know I'd gotten inside and was about to go into action. While I would have liked her to get under cover at that signal, I knew she would be doing exactly the opposite, but at least we were on the same page. Or that was until the Hulk appeared on the scene, right beside my girlfriend!

Only the fact that my Gwen was standing behind him, completely calm, and smiling convinced me that things were alright. Then, when one of the criminals tried to attack her and the Hulk not only shielded her but slammed the criminal in question against a wall I knew she would be perfectly fine.

Then came the need to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D.

_The fight was over, a bunch of agents were taking away the criminals to interrogate them and find out what exactly they had been planning. Though it looked like they just wanted to get some money from Stark. I contemplated taking off, but I could see the looks several of those present kept shooting my way and I knew I wouldn't be allowed to leave. And even if I did, they knew who I was, which meant they could track me down. At least if I talked to them then and there we could leave my aunt out of it. Gwen…well, I didn't keep my hopes up. _

_I noticed her hanging in the back of the room, pretending to be too nervous to just leave. I knew she was waiting for me, so I did the only thing I could do, being careful not to call attention to myself, or to her, I used one hand to signal two words for her: _

_+They know.+ _

_It was enough. She would understand immediately what I was talking about, particularly since those looking at me weren't being exactly discreet. What I wasn't expecting was when, instead of leaving, she walked straight to me, to stand by my side. _

_That finally called everyone's attention. Only the Avengers and a small number of Agents were still in the room, something I was thankful for. _

"_Shouldn't you be leaving now, Miss Stacy?" Her boss, Dr. Banner, asked her. _

"_I think I'll be staying for a while yet, boss." She replied with apparent calm. _

"_I'm not sure you realize what you're doing miss…" Another man, of about the same age, in a suit, told her. "What you're getting into." _

"_I've already lost my father, so don't try and tell me what I know or don't know about anything." She practically hissed at him. "I know exactly what I'm doing." _

_Then, with measured motions, she entwined our hands together. _

"_Gwen…" I whispered in the softest voice I could. _

"_This is my decision Peter…a decision I have the right to make." She whispered back. "I'm not leaving you alone." _

_She was right of course, so I said nothing else, instead I just brought my free hand to the back of my head, and pulled off the mask. _

The first few minutes were extremely tense, what with Gwen suspecting that they might have hired her as Banner's intern only because she was my girlfriend. It didn't help matters any when they admitted that, while they hadn't known at first, they had originally hired her because of her connection to Connors and his work; and then, when learning about me, decided she would be 'useful' on that front too. I was furious and if it weren't for the fact that the rest of the Avengers too seemed to be taking offense to the whole thing I might have reacted badly.

In the end it was decided that things would stay pretty much as they had thus far. I handled small criminals while the Avengers dealt with more serious and powerful villains. We could also call on each other for help if it became necessary. I was offered an internship with Stark, as we both had a pretty keen interest in Engineering (he was fascinated by my web-shooters), I also worked with Banner on the side from time to time. I wasn't getting paid, but got good college credits and a chance to spend more time with Gwen, which was definitely a plus.

At first I regretted spending less time with the friends I had made since the beginning of Senior year. People like Harry Osborn, whom I had known when we were younger and in the same Junior-High, before Uncle Ben lost his job and I had to get a scholarship to continue my studies; though we'd both changed a lot since then. Then there was Mary Jane, my neighbor, and one of the prettiest girls I'd ever seen (second to my Gwen of course). Harry was a good friend, and since Flash's change from being a bully to a friend MJ hung around us more often. I thought Harry might actually like her…Still, Gwen would always be much more important than any number of other friends.

Weeks passed, and months. Gwen graduated with a number of other students that were either ahead, like her, or had had to stay behind for an extra term. It was a rather small ceremony but still pretty nice. I briefly regretted not being able to graduate with her, but then I reminded myself I was being the supportive boyfriend. Besides, since working in Stark Tower we had been able to spend more time together, which was great.

Being in Stark Tower so often afforded me other opportunities as well, like training, so I actually knew what I was doing when I fought instead of just wildly following my instincts. It was good, while at first I was all black and blue, a time came when I was injured less and less, that made Gwen happy too.

In February we met two new inhabitants of Stark Tower. One was Loki Odinson, the half-insane (or so they said) Sorcerer adoptive brother of Thor, who was apparently a Frost Giant; and his wife, a human girl, barely a few years older than Gwen and I and already a Professor with three Master Degrees: Silbhé Salani.

Their story turned to be quite amazing, once we heard it. There was a lot of it I didn't understand, since I didn't get much of magic, it went too much against what I knew of sciences. Still, if there was one thing I did understand it was Loki's and Silbhé loyalty to each other. The fact that she'd stood by his side even when the world saw him as an enemy, that he'd been by her side even when she was sick and dying. I thought it was a wonderful example and hoped Gwen and I would be as lucky to stand next to each other no matter what.

Also, after the first slightly shocking meeting, I really couldn't imagine Loki as a villain. Maybe because I never actually saw him during the Chitauri attack in New York. Or maybe it was just that the looks he kept directing to his wife, which reminded me of my own to Gwen; I couldn't imagine someone who cared so much being evil! Still the mischief…that I liked! It certainly made life in the Tower more interesting.

Then, of course, things had to get complicated. There was that attack on the Tower when we were all out, handling some minor villain. I know Darcy, Jane and even Silbhé got the worse parts of the attack; yet when I arrived all I could think about was my Gwen. When I arrived to find her there, on the floor, looking so scared, and with a gun beside her…I couldn't believe it. I was so terrified for her, yet so proud at the same time. It was enough to make me dizzy.

Then, the next day we learnt just how serious the situation was. A Titan, or something along those lines, after both of my newest friends: one because he believed her to be some kind of goddess of Death, and the other because he'd betrayed him. He had the rest of the Chitauri army, and power greater than any of us Avengers. And we would have to fight him. On one hand, I loved the idea of fighting beside my new teammates, using my powers for good. It was like my uncle had said in that voicemail he left me that awful night:

"…_if anyone's destined for greatness, it's you, son. You owe the world your gifts. You just have to figure out how to use them, and know that wherever they take you, we'll always be here." _

Yes, he would always be there, here, in spirit since he could no longer be physically. And not only him, but also Aunt May, Gwen, the Avengers, and all my other new friends. So, for them, I had to do the right thing, I had to fight.

A plan was made, Loki, who'd had his magic returned after the attack on the Tower was going to act as a bait of sorts to attract Thanos and his Chitauri. The chosen battlefield: the dessert in New Mexico. As part of the plan, Phil, Happy (Stark's driver) and the girls were teleported to the Salani manor the night before. I hated saying goodbye to Gwen, especially seeing the fear she was trying to hide in her eyes. But we both knew how necessary it was that we fought that battle. So I did the best I could, I promised her I would do all I could to go back to her. It wasn't until days after the battle had passed that I learnt how close I came to losing her instead.

It wasn't until days later that I learnt why exactly Silbhé had ended up in New Mexico with Thanos, in the middle of our battle; the fact that I owed her my girlfriend's life, and it was one debt I would never be able to pay back…

In that moment just her arrival with the Titan was enough to throw me, throw us all off. Especially Loki. It was so bad I actually had to save the sorcerer a couple of times as other Chitauri took cheap shots at him. Of course he saved my life too later on. And then…

_Loki's pained cry was enough to freeze everyone in the battlefield instantly. None of us Avengers understood what was going on until we watched Silbhé fall to her knees, her body only kept mostly upright by Thanos painful looking pull on her hair. And…the magical golden bracelet that had never left her wrist, was laying in the sand… _

"_I…will not be used…to d-destroy tha…that which I…I love a-above all else." She said in a voice that, even with the obvious pain, managed to sound strong. _

"_You are not Death." Thanos practically snarled as he pulled on her hair. _

_She winced but did not cry out, I couldn't help but admire such bravery. _

"_No. But you will soon be dead." She stated. "For I am Nightingale, wife of Loki…and he will destroy you, utterly and absolutely." _

_It was almost like she wasn't being held captive; more than that, like she was absolutely in control, like it didn't matter that Thanos was holding her, because she'd already won…it was almost like she wasn't dying before our eyes…_

"_Not before I've destroyed him." Thanos hissed. "And you will make a good start." _

_I heard the beginning of Loki's scream, but before it'd even fully registered I was already on the move myself, shooting the first web. _

"_It's alright Loki, I've got this." I told him, throwing myself into action. _

_I took advantage of several light-poles conveniently placed as well as a few nearby rocky outcrops to swing myself right into the path where Thanos had thrown Silbhé. I quickly created a small web with which I helped myself to stop her without injuring her further. _

_Almost immediately we were on the sandy ground and I began checking her signals to make sure she was alright, or as much as one could expect, completely ignoring the sounds of the battle as it went on behind me. _

"_Peter…?" She asked, confused as she finally noticed me. _

"_It's alright Silbhé…you're safe now." I told her, still a bit put out by the whole thing and not knowing what else to do. "I've got you." _

"_Lo…ki…?" Was all she said, asked. _

"_He's taking care of that bastard, with Thor's help." I told her. "They'll be here any second now. Then we'll all get back to New York and make sure you'll get better." _

"_No you won't…I won't…" She told me, sounding a bit too calm. _

"_Wha…?" I didn't understand. _

"_You cannot save me from this Peter…" She told me quietly. "No one can." _

_I wasn't fully aware when the battle finally ended. I actually wasn't paying much attention to anything until I suddenly had Loki beside me, looking at his wife with eyes full of apprehension. I moved carefully then, allowing him to hold her in his lap. _

"_Here…" Loki produced both deamarkonian from his hands, holding them up to her. "We need to get this back on you already…" _

"_It's too late." She told him softly, though I heard. _

"_Don't say that." He seemed about to snap. "Just…don't. It's never too late." _

"_I'm sorry Loki." She whispered. _

They said their goodbyes then, and my heart almost broke. I wanted nothing more than to go to Gwen and hold her tightly in my arms right then. In fact, that's exactly what I did the moment I saw her again, back in the Tower. And I still remember with painful clarity how she collapsed in my arms the moment her eyes laid on Loki and the deceased Silbhé. I could only hold her, tightly against me, thanking all the gods that she was alright. As bad as I felt for her death, for Loki's loss, I could only be grateful that I wasn't in their place. Days later, upon learning what exactly had happened in the mansion, I would be thanking any and all gods once again.

Days later, during the funeral, I didn't actually get to talk with Ms. Salani, Silbhé's aunt, and yet I couldn't help but think of Aunt May. For a minute I couldn't help but wonder if she would look like that if I were ever to die. It didn't help that Ms. Salani seemed to have something in common with Aunt May in the sense that she knew what her niece had been into, even if the two never talked about it…

Thor left with Loki back to Asgard about two weeks or so after the battle, and a couple of days after the Sorcerer finally had his breakdown. I think it might have been on purpose, Thor wanted his brother to have his breakdown when he was still surrounded by friends, god knows how Asgard would be receiving him…

After that, it was like none of them Avengers wanted to be together anymore. Steve took his motorcycle one morning and left, just saying he wanted to do some traveling, see how much the country he served had changed. Natasha and Clint went back to taking secret missions from S.H.I.E.L.D., and Phil pretty much went with them. Jane and Dr. Selvig returned to New Mexico to continue their own work, though I heard Darcy hadn't gone with them, instead she was training to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent herself. Stark and his fiancée had moved back to Malibu for a while, though they never said the reason. Banner for his part went to Africa to work on some research…and he took Gwen with him.

It hurt, especially when she couldn't make it to my graduation. Still, I didn't dare tell her that, the last thing I wanted was to make her feel guilty; and at least I had MJ and Harry, and of course Aunt May was there too.

On the other side, I got to have the whole Summer with her, as Banner had given her an extended vacation. I learnt then how she was pretty much taking online classes and between that, the classes we had taken together during the last year and the credits earned through her work with Banner she was likely to receive her degree soon; without ever actually attending college.

The summer was wonderful, spending all that time with my girlfriend. Even if I'd lost a lot of friends in less than a week, at least I still had her…and Harry and MJ, even if they didn't know the truth about me.

Of course the Summer had to end eventually. I moved out of Aunt May's house and into a small, cheap apartment with Harry. I didn't know what surprised me more, that he was willing to room in with me, or that he didn't mind living in such a small apartment (because it was the best I could afford to pay my half, and I would never accept living in an apartment where he paid everything). I had even gotten a job, as a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle, to help with my expenses. I still had some money I'd earned when I'd actually helped in Stark Industries with something, but it was going to run out sometime: what with rent, amenities, school, and then there was the supplies I needed to create my biocable. Tony had allowed me to use his supplies and one of his labs during the months I had been part of the Avengers, that had all changed when everyone had left. Avengers Tower was still there, and Stark industries, but the people that truly mattered were gone…it made me feel empty.

So the Summer ended, and Gwen had to leave again. Harry and I began college, while MJ went to auditions for some acting jobs in between taking shifts as a waitress in a small dinner near her own apartment. She thought I didn't know that last part, but I'd seen her more than once while I was swinging around as Spiderman. I even made a point to check up on her every so often; the last thing I wanted was for something to happen to Harry's girlfriend. I never expected that kiss! I didn't even want to know what Gwen would have to say about it.

In the end I decided not to tell her anything until I saw her in person. It was going to be hard enough already, and I had no idea how I was going to convince her it hadn't meant anything. MJ may be beautiful, I may have called her an angel, once, when I was six and she'd just moved to the house next door to Aunt May's; but she was no Gwen, she would never be. And Gwen, she and no one else, was the love of my life.

The plan had been simple: Gwen had told me she would be getting Thanksgiving weekend free. Stark had even promised her use of his own plane (since this time she was not only with Banner, but also Tony and Pepper, working on a Stark expo across Europe). Like I'd already been expecting, something went wrong, there was some kind of storm in Italy or something, and they didn't allow any plane to take off until the next day. Which meant she wasn't actually in New York for Thanksgiving. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, not if we consider just how bad Thanksgiving went. Mr. Osborn might be a genius, rich, and a lot of other stuff, but he was a bastard. A bastard who didn't deserve the life he had, or the son, and he certainly should have never insulted either Harry, or MJ as he did.

Then everything went absolutely nuts!

**xXx**

Aunt May was in the hospital, as a consequence of the attack from the menace known as the Green Goblin, Harry was god-knows-where and MJ had been taken hostage by the same aforementioned villain. It hadn't taken me long to track him, what I never expected was the scene I came upon: the goblin was standing on top of the Tower bridge, holding in one hand a cable keeping aloft a tram with at least a dozen screaming kids, and in the other…MJ! And I still didn't know why exactly MJ was involved!

"Spider-Man!" He called with a mad yell the moment he knew he had my attention. "This is why only fools are heroes!"

I just stood there, balanced on the tension cables holding the bridge up, mind working a mile a minute as I tried to both understand what MJ had to do with anything and at the same time just how to save her, and the kids.

"Because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice…" He began in the craziest voice ever.

Then, as if things weren't nerve-wracking enough already. She had to arrive…and up the ante.

"If you're trying to put him before the kind of choice I think you are…" Someone yelled from the foot of the tower. "You have the wrong girl there!"

The Green Goblin's attention was called immediately, as was mine, and we both stared in equal shock as she stood there, blonde hair swaying in the wind…

She, Gwen, she was there, at the very foot of the bridge, challenging the goblin as it if were nothing at all…I didn't even know she had arrived already! I hadn't hear a thing from her since two days before when she'd told me all flights had been cancelled! And now she was placing herself in the greatest danger…why?!

"You want me?" Gwen challenged as she began climbing up the tower by the metal ladder on a nearby beam. "I know you do. So how about we stop the little-kid games and you let Mary Jane go, she has nothing to do with this. It's me you want."

"Gwen?!" I hear MJ gasp, in shock.

"You don't exist!" The Goblin yelled.

That actually took me by surprise, though somehow Gwen seemed unaffected by the statement. She just kept climbing.

"Oh, but I am very real." She assured him. "So, what will it be Goblin? Because I really hope I'm not climbing all these steps for nothing…"

"You know I want to kill you, and yet you're still climbing." The Goblin commented, voice tinted with disbelief.

"You have my friend, my innocent friend." Gwen stated, as if it were obvious, and for her it was. "Besides, I don't really think you want to kill her, we both know what a certain someone would think of you if you did…"

"You know…?" He began, and was that hesitation I noticed in his voice?

"I know." Gwen replied simply. "He doesn't know yet, but then again, he isn't looking at all the cards at the same time. He's down there right this moment, you know? He's watching you, watching us, watching everything…can you comprehend what he's thinking, watching you do something as insane as this? What he'll think when he realizes just who you are…? I'm sure you can begin to imagine. Is that really the kind of legacy you want for yourself? Moreover, the kind of memory you want to leave Harry with?"

It was as she said those words that I took a quick glance down, I saw him, Harry, standing at the foot of the tower, watching everything with wide eyes, as if trying to comprehend the meaning behind Gwen's yelling. I did my best to do the same, Gwen obviously thought Harry's presence there was of some importance to the Green Goblin…but that meant…It dawned on me abruptly. Mr. Osborn was the Green Goblin! Oh Lord…

I was pulled out of my musings when Gwen finally reached the top of the ladder. I knew she was stubborn, and it was unlikely that I would be able to stop her…I still couldn't help but try.

"Gwen…" I whispered her name in a low voice.

"Peter…" She whispered my name back, low enough so only I could hear her.

"Why are you doing this?" I couldn't help but blurt out the most important question.

"Do you remember the Nightingale?" Her question took me off-guard.

I had two images clearly in my mind: first that of Silbhé the night before the final battle against Thanos and his Chitauri, when she'd left with Gwen for the Salani Mansion. The second, far more painful, was that of her shrouded body in Loki's arms.

"How could I ever forget her?" I sighed. "I'll forever owe her so much…"

"Then you must know why I am doing this." She told me calmly. "For she did the very same thing for me…besides, it is the right thing to do. Why should MJ have to suffer for something that's in no way connected to her?"

"You shouldn't have to either." I pointed out.

"Oh, but this is like that question Phil asked me that time, last year." Her voice sounded wistful. "When he, and everyone else, was thoroughly convinced there was no way I could know what I was getting into. Well, I knew then, and I do now."

I was filled with so much pain and despair, for so long I'd fear losing her, had contemplated if I hadn't made a terrible mistake by breaking the promise I'd made to Captain Stacy. In that moment the despair was greater than ever, so much I felt it might incapacitate me.

"Remember Nightingale Spider-Man." She told me one more time as she reached my enemy. "Whatever happens, save the children."

"You're a crazy little girl, aren't you?" The Goblin asked with a crazy chuckle.

I bristled, wanting more than anything to take him down, but there was nothing I could do yet.

"This is my choice." She said one more time. "Now let MJ go."

He did, which surprised me greatly.

"Gwen…" MJ began, so terrified, both for herself and for her friend.

She still had no idea that Gwen wasn't the only friend of hers standing right there…

"Just go MJ, now, before things get worse." Gwen told her.

"I don't understand…" MJ whispered brokenly.

I hated not being able to help Gwen, but I knew I couldn't just leave MJ there either. I had to take her away from the danger, if only so Gwen's actions wouldn't be in vain.

"Mary Jane!" I called her.

She didn't react to me calling her name, I imagine she either didn't notice, or thought I'd hear someone else and picked it up. It didn't matter much in that moment, really.

"I'll get you down." I told her.

I shot a webline at her, then used it to lower her to the first level of the tower. I would have placed her all the way down, but Harry was on the first level already.

"You two need to get out of here!" I yelled at them.

Still, I didn't actually stop to see if they followed my instructions, I had other things to worry about, like the Green Goblin, and Gwen.

When I turned to look at the Goblin again, he had Gwen in the very position he'd had MJ before, holding her up by the neck, her feet dangling on empty air off the edge of the bridge tower. She wasn't crying or fighting, no, she just hung there, unmoving; she'd already accepted what she saw as the irremediable end to her situation…and yet I refused to accept it just yet.

"Gwen!" I screamed her name in panic.

I could see her hands signaling to me, I wasn't paying attention to the actual words, though I had a pretty good idea what she was saying. Reminding me of the choice she had made. I wanted nothing more than to get her out of there immediately, but I knew that if anyone were to get hurt, or killed, particularly those children in the tram…she would never forgive me.

"This is your doing!" The Green Goblin began yelling at me. "You could have been my ally, instead you chose to be my enemy. You caused this! This is the life you have chosen! So what will it be Spider-Man. Let die the woman you love…or suffer the little children? Make your choice, Spider-Man, and see how a hero is rewarded!"

I was standing on a ledge, figuratively as well as literally. I knew that the moment he finished what he pretended I would snap. If I went against Gwen choices, she would never forgive me; if I followed them, I would never forgive myself. It was a lose-lose situation. I could see Gwen mouthing words 'I love you', and 'my choice'. In the end I forced my mind to clear and focus; I was ready to act, even if I knew the end result would still be terrible no matter what.

"Choose!" The Green Goblin yelled.

And then they were falling. On one side of the Tower, my love, and on the other, the tram with a dozen children. All of them innocent, and at least one was going to die. I could only pray the gods for forgiveness, and then I jumped.

In the last moment I shot a webline in Gwen's direction in a last desperate attempt to save her. I didn't see it actually reaching her, but I couldn't focus on her either. I had children to save, and if I didn't then losing Gwen would be an even worse torture than it was already going to be.

I didn't quite have a plan, so when I ended up suspended in mid-air, holding the cable on which the tram hung with one hand, while the other I kept up, with a webline holding both myself and the tram up. I then had no idea what else to do.

I was absolutely lucky when I noticed the ship approaching the spot where I hung. The conductor yelled me to hold on, he was getting there. I managed to do it, barely. Still, their help was the first thing that went right since the nightmare that was that night had begun. The loss of Gwen hadn't hit me just yet, and I hope I would be able to hold on a little longer. I still had a villain to take care of, in Gwen's memory. I couldn't let what had happened to her, happen to anyone else.

"Spider-Man…" I heard several voices calling me.

The children were screaming my name. They were delighted by the fact they were alive, and possibly the fact that I'd saved them. Only the adults, with their solemn expressions, seemed to be able to understand what it was that I'd lost in my decision to save the dozen innocent children. But it was alright, they were innocents, it was better if they didn't have to understand death just yet, if they got to be children at least one more day.

"I have to go now." I said, more to the adults than the children.

"We will make sure the children get to land." The conductor of the boat assured me. "You go and make sure that monster pays for what he's done."

"Go Spider-Man!" The children chorused still thrilled.

I nodded at them before shooting a webline to the bridge and pulling myself up. Yes, I was going to make the Green Goblin pay…

The Goblin was still standing on the very top of the bridge tower, as if silently observing me. He began saying something I do not know what, I was just so furious…I didn't even dare take a look over the edge of the bridge, try and see if I could find my love, I was too afraid to see her broken body either on the bridge itself, or the water…

I used the momentum from my swinging to deliver the hardest kick I possibly could to the chest of the Green Goblin. He stumbled backwards a bit. Still, the advantage wasn't mine for long as he countered with a couple of punches and I went flying off the tower yet again. My reaction was instinctive as I shot another webline, I missed my intended target, which was a lightning rod at the highest point of the tower, it would have allowed me to swing back to where he was; instead I caught one of the tension cables, and ended going through a window and straight into the Tower itself. For some reason the Goblin chose to jump on its glider and went after me.

There was an exchange of kicks and punches and while I did manage to land a few, I noticed that my strength was waning. I was losing, and a part of me didn't care that much…

Right then a hard kick to my ribs had me folding over in half, then it was followed by a double punch on me back, so hard I pretty much went to through the floor, landing at least two levels bellow, though still in the tower itself. My instincts were yelling at me about incoming danger, but my body just hurt so much, it was becoming harder to move. Then, right as it seemed like my spider sense was about to make me snap, I heard something else:

"PETER!"

I knew that voice. I knew that voice!

My reaction was instinctive, as I rolled to a side, evading the dropping kick the Goblin had aimed at my head, before flipping back on my feet. I blocked a couple of punches and then shot a series of weblines in quick succession, doing my best to hold the Goblin like I'd once held the Lizard. It wasn't until I was confident that it would take him at least a minute to release himself, that I turned my back on him to search for the voice that had called my name.

My mind still couldn't fully process things, even when my heart was absolutely sure just whose voice I'd just heard. It just didn't seem possible…Yet there she was, standing on a landing a level above me, flanked by MJ and Harry, whose eyes were fixed nervously on the villain fighting to get free of my webbing. However I had eyes only for her, my love, a love I'd thought lost beyond all hope for salvation. Yet she was standing right there.

I was in so much shock I didn't notice much of anything until I suddenly had blonde hair right in my face, arms wound around my back, and sobbing was reaching my ears. I reacted instantly then, holding her tightly too my chest, so much a part of me feared I might be hurting her, still, I couldn't bring myself to even think about letting her go.

"You're alive…" I gasped into her hair. "Oh God…you're alive…"

"I'm alive." She agreed.

"How?" I asked. "I mean…I threw a webline, but it didn't reach you."

"I honestly do not know." Gwen told me. "I'm just so thankful for it."

"Me too. You're right. That's all that matters."

For what seemed like forever I did nothing except hold her, reaffirming the knowledge that she was alive; that someone, somehow had saved her life. I did not know who it might have been, but I would owe that person forever…

Then, a roar of what might have been my name, abruptly tore my attention back to the rather disastrous situation we were in. The Green Goblin had finally finished tearing the web keeping him in place, all except the one I'd shot straight at his face. It was blocking his eyes, and most of his mouth, so, in the end, he simply ripped the mask off.

"Peter…" I heard him call my name.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, even when a part of me had come to the conclusion of the most likely person to be beneath the goblin's costume; it was still a hard pill to swallow.

"Can't be…" I whispered in shock. "You're a monster…"

I moved instinctively, pushing Gwen behind my back protectively, I'd already had to watch her be hurt once on that day, I wasn't about to allow it again. If the Goblin wanted to hurt her he would have to get through me!

"Please, Peter, don't let it take me back." He said as he dropped to his knees. "I need your help. I'm not a monster."

"You killed those people on the balcony." I hissed, not believing a word he said. "You could have killed your son…"

It was a painful reminder, as I turned to a side at the same time Gwen and the Goblin did. MJ and Harry were still on that landing, watching the scene in mute shock. MJ holding Harry, who looked as if his whole world had crumbled around him in an instant, and maybe in a way it had. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten they were there. In any case, it was too late now, the truth was out, not just mine, but Mr. Osborn's as well.

Not a word was said, for the longest time it was as if each of us had been rooted to our spots. And then… it was like a switch being flipped. Something began changing in Mr. Osborn's eyes, we could all practically watch the insanity…the goblin…creeping in.

I was still trying to think of something to do when I noticed a shimmer right behind him. An instant later a figure was standing right then, placing a hand on the base of the Goblin's cranium, right above where the suit reached. Mr. Osborn collapsed then again, seizing.

"Dad!" I heard Harry yell from above.

I was still processing the identity of the person who had made an appearance out of nowhere, when Gwen's pull on my arm distracted me. Harry was coming. She helped me stop him, and we were both thankful that Mary Jane did not interfere.

"Easy Harry…" I began.

"Let me go Spider-Man!" He demanded. "I need to get to my dad!"

I needed so much for him to trust me, I didn't even think about it as I ripped off my mask, throwing it aside. MJ gasped, but that was all the reaction I got.

"Harry, Harry listen to me, it's me, Peter. I need you to listen." I called to him strongly. "I know you're worried about your dad. But you cannot just rush in. We don't know what he might do…"

"That man is hurting him!" Harry yelled. "I have to help him! If you're truly Peter, help us!"

"We do not know that for sure." Gwen pointed out calmly. "And I very much doubt it."

"I promise you, I am Peter." I assured him. "and like Gwen, I doubt he's here to hurt your dad. I'm quite sure he's here to help us, already has in fact." I looked over my shoulder, fixing my eyes on the newcomer. "I'm right, aren't I, Loki?"

* * *

Chapters come weekly!

Full size of the poster and an accompanying wallpaper can be found in my deviant-art account. I am Princess-Lalaith there. Please go and comment on those (and on this too!) Thank you!


	2. The Girl

**The Girl **

My name is Gwendolyne Stacy, though I prefer just Gwen. For the first sixteen years of my life I was a pretty normal girl, with an even somewhat boring life. Daughter of Helen Stacy, housewife, and George Stacy, Captain of the NYPD, the oldest of four children, all three brothers: Simon, and the twins Howard and Henry.

I entered Midtown Science High being a year younger than most of my classmates, and was actually surprised when discovering I wasn't the only one, there was one other, a boy called Peter Parker. He was tall but lanky, awkward, always hunched down, Flash and other jocks liked to bother him, as they did with others they saw as nerds, or freaks, or whatever other offensive name they thought to give them. The only reason they never picked on me was because I'm pretty, and would sometimes hang out with popular girls. I was also in a number of clubs, making it so people knew me. And then there was my being the daughter of the Chief of Police…

It was my junior year in high-school, though my teachers had told me that if I earned enough credits I might be able to graduate a semester early, maybe a whole year early. I had made all sorts of plans of the things I wanted to do after I finished high-school. As a part of that plan I'd begun working as an intern for Dr. Connors. He'd even written a recommendation letter for me, for when I applied for college.

I'd seen Peter a number of times around the school. I even saw him defending a classmate of ours once, only to get beaten and his camera damaged for the trouble. Still, I didn't talk much to him until the time when he slipped into a welcoming tour I was giving for the new interns. I recognized him immediately when he spoke up when Dr. Connors made a question, and while I was intrigued at his presence and the fact that he seemed to understand what my boss was talking about (not many do). I didn't like the fact that he was there when he wasn't supposed to be. I was afraid he might cause trouble…and in the end he did, though I did not find out about that until much later. No, that day I just lost sight of him.

Things got really freaky after that. It was as if a switch had been flipped on Peter. He still hunched somewhat, and yet, he didn't seem as awkward as before, there was a fluidity in his movements, a confidence that hadn't been there before. Also, bruises would appear on his face, arms and hands, like when he was bullied, but they disappeared almost as quickly. And he stopped wearing glasses. The most surprising, and on a certain level, mortifying thing, was that no one but I seemed to notice these changes.

Then he humiliated Flash in gym. In that moment I was so sure everything had been ruined…not exactly sure what was supposed to have been ruined, but something was. Because he was no longer the Peter Parker I knew; if he was capable of using whatever new abilities he'd recently found out in himself, to take revenge on others, rather than for something that actually helped… then he was not the kind of man, boy, man, I imagined he would be.

Then I talked to his uncle Ben, who seemed to take great pleasure in humiliating Peter by calling him on the fact he'd my picture as his screen-saver (and that actually made me feel both curious and embarrassed at the same time). I also couldn't help myself and ended up aiding the older man in mortifying Peter even more. It was actually kind of funny.

Things kept changing, I could see it, slowly but surely. But I did not say a thing.

Then Ben Parker died, and it was like someone lighting a match directly on top of a pile of dried leaves. The fire was instantly huge, and impossible to put out. I saw him hanging around the school, all dark and mopey, and I wanted to help him, but I just did not know how…

In the end, I did the only thing I could think of, I invited him to dinner one night. I honestly do not know if it was the best or the worst idea I had my whole life. On the negative side: the dinner was a mess, Peter either did not have a suit, or he just did not know he was supposed to wear one; he was obviously not used to the kind of dinner my mother usually prepared; and my dad was either trying to play the 'hard police father' part, of the spider-man was simply the worst topic we could have touched up on during dinner.

Of course, on the last part I did not realize until we actually got to the bright side of the evening. When eventually it became too much I insisted we went out to get some air, the two of us ended up on the terrace. We joked a little bit, began to relax and suddenly…he told me. Rather, he began babbling and saying all kinds of ridiculous things, trying to say something, then trying to take it back, and then, right when I'd finally run out of patience and was about to leave…I suddenly felt some kind of thread pulling on my hip sharply. I spun around before ending up right in Peter's arms. And right as my mind was catching up with the rest of me, with what it all meant: he kissed me.

So yeah, I found out that the boy I'd recently decided I fancied, liked me back, and he was Spider-Man, all in one night…or rather, all in the space of two minutes! Really crazy night, and the craziest part: that wasn't the worst one.

My dad thought Peter was crazy, which really didn't help matters any. But that was probably because of the argument they had that night…I had no idea how he would react if he were to learn that Peter hadn't just seen a video about Spider-Man, but actually was the masked hero… I got to find out, eventually.

I'm not sure when exactly I decided to be there for Peter, I just did. I would sit with him, talk to him, I did more listening than actual talking, but that seemed to be what he needed.

A couple of days later, the worst scare of my life, up to that point at least. I was working on my computer, in my bedroom, when suddenly Peter was on my window, seating on the fire-escape. I let him in, joking about him learning to use the front door, until I noticed the set of deep gashes across his chest. My heart nearly stopped then.

When panic threatened to take me over I did my best to block any and all emotions, focusing instead on doing what was needed. So I got a first-aid kit and began treating his injuries. There was a brief scare with my father when he went to offer me some cocoa, but I managed to send him away with the excuse of cramps and such. Nothing scares a man more than women troubles. At least that's what mom always says.

Once I was sure he was not going to die on me, we began to talk. I thought it was insane for him to still want to fight the Lizard after what had already happened to him. I even went as far as baring my soul to him, letting him know how I had felt my whole life with my father being a policeman; hoping he would then understand why it was so hard for me to see him, my boyfriend, putting himself in such danger. The answer he gave me forced me to understand him instead:

"_Gwen, this is my responsibility. I have to fix it." _

It was such a simple thing to say, but I knew his thoughts on responsibility, the message his uncle had left him with, about power and responsibility. And Peter certainly had power…

I didn't have any special abilities or powers, all I had was my mind, and my heart, and I decided they would have to be enough. I couldn't fight Peter's battles myself, but I could make sure he had someone to share those with; someone to help him when he was hurt, either physically, mentally or emotionally.

Despite Peter's injury, the night was pretty great. The feeling of flying through the air in his arms was a sensation far more thrilling than any roller-coaster, or any other ride I'd been in. It was absolutely wonderful. A reminder that, even with his will to shoulder a lot of responsibility, there was more to Peter Parker than just work and duty, he was still as much of a teenager as I was. Only his methods of having fun were a bit more…abnormal.

Then, the next day, the attack on the High School. It was awful having to leave with all the other students as they evacuated, knowing my boyfriend was staying behind. So of course I ended up not leaving. It was a good thing in the end, I got the chance to distract the Lizard long enough for Spider-Man to get the drop on him. Then he went and threw me out the window. My boyfriend! Threw me out a window! Granted, he was doing it for my own good, but still.

Later that same day I got my chance, my opportunity to be useful, in my own way. Spider-Man was tracking the Lizard through the sewers, but the only way to truly stop him was administering the antidote to the serum that created him. I needed to be the one to do that. So I went to OsCorp and did it. Even when Peter called, telling me to leave because the Lizard was on its way to OsCorp, I refused to do it, not until I was finished doing my part. By God, those were the eight longest minutes of my life!

Peter thought I was crazy. Hell, I thought I was crazy! But still I stayed until the serum was ready. I made sure that everyone else left, but I stayed. It was a miracle I didn't end up dead; either that or there was more of Dr. Connors left in the Lizard than either Peter or I thought possible. It didn't save my father, though…

I remember, with crystal clarity, the conversation I had with my dad when I got out of OsCorp, antidote in hand, mind going mile a minute as I tried to find a way to get it to Spider-Man.

"_Dad!" I exclaimed the moment I saw him. "I have got to get this to Spider-Man."_

"_Get in the car, let's go." He ordered. _

"_No! No, no, no!" I tried to evade him. "It can stop the Lizard!"_

"_Get in the car." He ordered once again. _

"_You don't understand!" I insisted. _

"_I do." His words froze me. "Your boyfriend is a man of many masks, I get it." He took the antidote from me. "Give me this. Get in the car."_

"_Please make sure he's okay." I whispered. _

Those were the last words I ever told my father.

I got in the car, and waited. I watched as glass fell, there were gasps, and shouts, but I wouldn't come out of the car. If I did, if I tried to catch a look of something like so many others were doing, I would begin to make up things in my mind, creating all kind of scenarios. I just couldn't do it. Not with both my boyfriend and my dad up there…

Eventually there was a loud boom, and a cloud of blue gas crossed the skies; the antidote had been launched. Then, silence; after it lasted a while, my dad's second in command decided to go up. I kept waiting still. I began looking up and around, trying to catch a glimpse of Spiderman as he left, or something. Even if he couldn't approach me because I was surrounded by the police, at least that's what I hoped. Only I never saw him, I didn't so much as catch a sign…and then Williamson came and told me that my father was dead.

I couldn't believe it. My father…dead. Even with what I'd told Peter that night in my room, about my fear for my father because of his job, I never actually imagined how it would be if one day he did not come back. I never allowed myself to, the mere possibility was too painful… Reality was much, much worse.

I couldn't process what was going on. Not as Williamson told me, not as I rode in the car with him to tell my mother and brothers, not as I spent the next two days locked in my room, or when I was forced out to come out and attend the funeral. Even at that point all I could think about was the fact that I hadn't yet seen Peter. He had to know my father was dead, he had to, and he hadn't so much as dropped by to say hello yet. The only reason I even knew he was alive was because I'd heard Flash mentioning that his aunt had called him in sick. It made me wonder how badly hurt he was…I had no idea.

I, in fact, wouldn't even begin to comprehend what my father had done, his sacrifice, and especially not why. Not until more than a year later, not until Silbhé…but that's another part of the story. At this point I'd never heard that name, and I wouldn't for a while yet.

After the funeral I could keep going on my own no more, so I told my driver to take me to the Parkers' place. It was no use. He would just tell me he couldn't do it anymore, couldn't be with me. He didn't tell me it was because of my father, but I knew; my dad would have wanted to protect me, would have done anything to achieve that, including convincing Peter to stay away from me. I knew it was him being a dad, what he thought was the last thing he could do for me; and Peter thought he was doing the right thing by following his last wishes…it still hurt.

And then, days later, when I had almost convinced myself I could accept Peter's decision, that I could move on…that English class changed everything yet again. Peter was arriving late to class for the umpteenth time in the term, and the teacher was chastising him, not that anyone in the class thought it would have much effect:

"_Sorry, Miss Ritter." He said, trying to sound sincere. "It won't happen again, I promise."_

"_Don't make promises you can't keep, Mr. Parker." The professor stated with a sigh. _

_He didn't give an answer, not like one was expected anyway, but then I felt his breath on my neck, he was leaning forward in his seat. I was the only one to hear the next words to come out of his mouth, and they were enough to make my breath catch_

"_Yeah, but those are the best kind…"_

_I could only smile. _

That's how we got back together. I knew he still had his doubts, not of our feelings, he'd assured me time and again that he was confident of that. He was just so afraid of something happening to me because of who he was… I assured him everything would be alright, I trusted him to look after me, and it's not like I was exactly the damsel-in-distress kind either. Things would be alright, I believed that with all my heart, still do in fact.

It took time, but our lives began settling down, until the next mess happened. This time some kind of invasion on New York! I knew without anyone telling me that my boyfriend would be getting involved in that, and since I wasn't the kind of girlfriend who just waits around, I decided to make myself useful as well and began helping with the evacuation. Most of the officers who saw me recognized me as Captain Stacy's daughter and didn't dare say anything about my presence, others just thought I was a volunteer, and likewise let it go.

It was actually a surprise when I eventually found out that Spider-Man had never fully gotten involved in the attack, though a few people had seen him helping here and there, some distance away from the main battle. I could only hope that meant he was beginning to learn to choose his battles, and not to get involve in things that were far over his head. The last thing I needed was to lose him as well!

So we moved on with our lives. Finished our junior year of High-School and kept on living. During the summer I received a great surprise when I was offered a position as Dr. Bruce Banner's intern. I had no idea how that had happened, since I'd never applied for such a position, and not many had been looking for me since the mess with Dr. Connors. Peter convinced me to give it a try, and so I went. I will never forget that first day.

_The lab was actually a number of floors of the recently remodeled Stark Tower; Which now read Avengers on the outside. I had been running around all day to keep up with the tasks left to me, hardly actually seeing Dr. Banner. Until that afternoon. _

_I was finishing a report for him, knowing he would enter the office at any time, when suddenly I heard yelling outside. With the experiences I'd gained from Peter I took my phone in hand, ready to speed-dial my boyfriend in case of an emergency (though I couldn't see how anything could happen in the place where the Avengers were supposed to live!). I'd just taken a handful of steps outside the office when I froze in place. _

_Less than ten feet away from me stood a huge green…thing. I blinked once, twice, forcing my body to suppress any and all natural responses, particularly the 'fight or flight' instinct. I knew in a corner of my mind neither was a good idea in my current situation. So I just stayed there. I stood my ground, watching the green creature approach me slowly. _

_I'm sure I heard some yelling, someone calling my name somewhere around us, but I ignored all of them, all my intention fixed on the creature. _

"_Who are you?" I couldn't help my curiosity when he came close enough. _

"_Me Hulk." He replied in a strange hoarse voice. _

_Hulk? I asked myself, I'd read that name before, and something else. _

"_Hulk?" I repeated, it dawned on me then. "Dr. Banner is that you? I'm Gwen Stacy, I am your new intern doctor." _

_My body was tense, and I was still ready to phone my boyfriend, not that I thought he would be able to get to me on time to do much if the Hulk decided to attack, but still. I was not about to stand down anyway. If I could stand up to the Lizard I could stand up to the Hulk; besides, if he was working there, with other people in the tower knowing about him, he obviously couldn't be as bad as Connors when he was the Lizard, so that was good, or so I hoped. _

"_Gwen not afraid of Hulk?" He asked me. _

"_No." I answered without hesitation, it was true enough. _

_A handful of seconds passed, then five more, and another five, and suddenly it was like the Hulk was becoming smaller. In less than a minute I could see before me a man of average height brown hair and eyes, dressed in ripped pants. _

"_Dr. Banner?" I reiterated my question from before. _

"_That's me." He said awkwardly. "I'm sorry Miss Stacy, you should've never seen me like that." _

"_It's perfectly alright Dr. Banner." I told him, then to reassure him I added. "I'm not sure how much of this is in my file. I was Dr. Connors's intern, and I'm probably one of the few people who knows what his involvement was in the mess in OsCorp Tower all those months ago. Trust me when I say I have experience with people that are, let's say, less than normal. I'm not the kind to be easily scared." I turned around and headed back to the office, looking over my shoulder one last time. "By the way Doc., the requested reports are ready." _

Of course I should have imagined the kind of consequences giving that kind of information would have. It was probably how they eventually discovered Peter…on the other hand, it might have been a good thing. Peter got friends and colleagues, people who could understand what he was going through by being heroes themselves. He would always have me, but they could understand him in a level I never could. That was good.

Still. I finished my time as a summer intern, and was invited to stay on a permanent basis, pretty much as Dr. Banner's assistant. Apparently everyone decided that it did not matter that I hadn't even finished High-School yet, I could face the Hulk and not scream, run away or faint, that was an even higher qualification than any school diploma.

So I made arrangements with the school, I had amassed enough extra credits through my first three years that I could take only a couple more classes and graduate in December. I didn't like the idea of losing so much time that I could have been with Peter, but he insisted.

"_You're always the supportive girlfriend, it's time for me to be the supportive boyfriend. I know you want this, so why not take it? I'll still be here Gwen. Even if we don't share classes together, I'll still be here, and I'll still love you. Sure, I'll hate not having as much time with you. But if this is what you truly want…you should do it."_

So I did. I accepted the job.

And less than two months later I ended up as hostage to a bunch of wannabe-villains! Granted, it wasn't against me personally, they had taken the whole Tower hostage. I don't think they even saw me as anything special. And why wannabe-criminals? Because after the Lizard, and the others (aside from everyday thieves and such) Spider-Man fought, the ones attacking the Tower weren't really that much.

In fact, after a few hours passed with no change I began contemplating the possibility of doing something myself. Right as I was about to throw caution to the wind and try something I heard a keen whistle over the intercom. It was the signal Peter and I had agreed on, so I would be prepared in case I was about to be in the middle of something.

"_He's here…" I whispered mostly to myself. _

_That called my boss's attention, he was sitting beside me. It was strange how the criminals did not know he was the Hulk, they hadn't tried anything against him yet. _

"_Dr. Banner, I need you to trust me." I told him softly. _

"_Miss Stacy?" He asked, confused. _

"_I know this is sudden, but I really don't have time to explain." I told him. "Help is coming." _

"_Those guys warned Tony not to come." He reminded me. _

"_It's not Mr. Stark." I shook my head. "Trust me, help is coming." _

"_You're so sure…" _

"_I am. Dr. Banner. I know this is gonna sound crazy, but when the time is right I'll need you to turn into the Hulk." _

He thought I was crazy, of course. But as brave as my boyfriend might be, and as stupid as the criminals holding us all hostage seemed to be, their numbers were still such that he wouldn't be able to handle them all on his own.

Thankfully things went quite alright. After Peter's initial scare when seeing Hulk beside me, things went better. In fact, the Hulk turned to be pretty protective of me, according to Dr. Banner, because I was one of the few people not afraid of him.

Then came the moment when we needed to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D.

_The fight was over, what looked like Agents of some kind were taking the criminals with them, they would probably interrogate them and such, though I didn't actually think they were much more than thieves and thugs. Still, I waited at the back of the room, pretending to be too nervous to actually leave, when in fact I was waiting for Spider-Man to make his own exit. After the strange day we were having thus far I wasn't about to just take off and leave him in a room full of government agents who may want to hurt him or something. _

_All my worst suspicions seemed to come true the moment I noticed his hand moving discreetly and actually made out the words he was signing: _

_+They know.+ _

_They knew…They knew! They knew about Spider-Man, about Peter. The government knew! That wasn't good, not in my dictionary, and I doubted in anyone's dictionary! If they knew, and he hadn't left yet, that meant they probably weren't going to allow him to leave. And even if he did leave, if they knew who he was it wouldn't be hard to find him at all. That meant that, to a point, I was compromised as well. It didn't matter, it's not like I was about leave him anyway. _

_Once I'd made my decision, it was the simplest thing. Quietly but with no hesitation I moved from the back wall to stand beside my boyfriend, who was stiff as a board, obviously he wasn't expecting that reaction from me. _

"_Shouldn't you be leaving now, Miss Stacy?" Dr. Banner asked me respectfully. _

"_I think I'll be staying for a while yet, boss." I told him with feigned calm. _

"_I'm not sure you realize what you're doing miss…" Another man, an Agent, said in what was obviously an authoritative voice, not like I care much for it, or him. "What you're getting into." _

"_I've already lost my father, so don't try and tell me what I know or don't know about anything." I hissed at him, who does he think he is to judge, what I know or don't know? "I know exactly what I'm doing." _

_I wasn't about to stand down, no way. So with that in mind I made a point of entwining my hand with my boyfriend's, without hiding the motion at all. _

"_Gwen…" He whispered low enough for only me to hear. _

"_This is my decision Peter…a decision I have the right to make." I whispered back. "I'm not leaving you alone." _

_Surprisingly enough, he didn't try to fight me on it. Either he actually liked that I was staying, or he just didn't see the point; after all, if they already knew him, it was only a matter of time before they connected me to him, if they hadn't before this. I was still surprised when he moved his free hand to his head and then pulled off his mask without a word. _

The conversation didn't begin the best way it could have, and I admit it might have been my fault. But it's just…as I stood there I realized that my boss was the Hulk, he was one of the Avengers, and their boss, the Agent with the eye-patch, he knew who Spider-Man was, who my Peter was…what if it was all connected? I was very angry, and began demanding answers. When they told me they had initially contacted be because of my work with Connors, because they'd hoped to gain some insight on what he'd been doing…well, that wasn't too much of a surprise. But when the brunette woman, assistant to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director or whatever, said that, after finding out about Peter, they'd thought I would be a good way 'in', so to speak…I was livid. They had planned to use me against my own boyfriend!

My anger, as it turned out, was surpassed by my boss's and, surprisingly, the rest of the Avengers' as well. Apparently not only they hadn't known about the Agents' plans, they also were completely against them. I think that was the only reason I didn't make any complaints when they offered Spider-Man a place as an Avenger. In the end, he would still handle small-time criminals like he was thus far, and if some other villain appeared on his area; but also, if things got serious (like Lizard-serious) this time he would be able to call for help. The Avengers could also call on him, but since they were already a team I thought that was less likely.

The most surprising part was, perhaps, when they offered me a place in the team. I was no hero, but as they expressed, I was a hero-girlfriend, and that deserved commendation as well. It was how I ended up befriending Virginia 'Pepper' Potts (Stark's fiancée and CEO), Dr. Jane Foster (Thor's girlfriend) and other close friends like Darcy Lewis (Jane's assistant) and Senior Agent Phil Coulson (S.H.I.E.L.D.'s liaison with the Avengers).

I liked being part of that group, not only because of what I could achieve as a scientist. I liked having friends who knew what was really going on in my life, with my boyfriend. The fact that we could keep each other company while the others were out fighting criminals and protecting New York in general was also a nice bonus.

In January two new people began living in the Tower, though Peter and I didn't get to actually meet them until a few weeks later. They were Silbhé Salani, 21 year old prodigy, Professor in European History, Literature, and Mythology and Folklore and her husband; the Asgardian (adoptive, since he was actually a Jotun), Loki Odinson.

Their story was simply fascinating. A young girl meeting a god in her garden, the two of them becoming friends, he saving her life when the Cancer was going to kill her, their love surviving all kind of tests; and even when he's seen as a villain by Earth, she still stands by him! Definitely a wonderful and touching story.

I was thankful at the fact that both Peter and I knew sign language, since neither of them talked. Loki had a muzzle, which, along the collar blocking his magic seemed to be part of his punishment for being involved in the Chitauri invasion. Silbhé…we didn't actually know why she couldn't talk, though it might have been connected with the coma she was in before arriving to the Tower. I heard the two of them were magically connected through some bracelets they wore, though I did not understand what that meant exactly.

I should have known, because this was the Avengers I was involved with, and Trouble seemed to work just fine as a middle name for all of them, that something was going to happen. I remember with awful clarity that day at the beginning of April. The team had gone out to fight some enemy and I was still working in the lab, knowing that if I finished fast enough I would be able to join Phil, Loki and the girls in Stark's main terrace as we all waited. That was the plan at least until we all heard Miss Potts through the intercom, screaming for someone to help, as there was a monster attacking them in the terrace. I remember thinking about my friends on that terrace, wishing that Peter and the others would come back, knowing they would never make it in time…

Next thing I remember is falling to my knees after dropping a gun to the floor beside me. I'd just fired that very gun, I'd just helped take down a monster…and I had no idea how I could do it. Only that I had to help my friends…God bless my father for teaching me how to shoot.

"_Gwen, dear, I truly hope you'll never find yourself in a situation where you need to actually shoot someone. But there are some things that's better to have and not need, than to need and not have. This is one of them." _

That's what he said the day he taught me how to shoot, turns out I had some natural talent. Still, I don't imagine he expected me to use those lessons against an alien invader or anything…

When we found out what the Chitauri wanted, I wanted to scream and cry at the same time. One of my new friends: Silbhé, was being pursued by an insane alien warrior who believed her to be his for some bizarre reason; another being pursued for supposedly betraying him (but since doing that meant saving us all, I wasn't going to complain). And then there was the fact that the bastard alien Thanos was quite willing to destroy the whole planet, killing us all.

We knew Thanos was coming, and the Avengers would be fighting him, the crucial part for me: Spider-Man would be fighting him. As proud I had always been at him wanting to help people, I was terrified at the possibility of losing him. I could have never imagined just who would end up being in more danger that day:

_It was still early and the day had already taken a turn for the insane. We had all slept in rooms in the Salani mansion as planned, with me sharing a room with Pepper. Then, abruptly Silbhé was yelling that Thanos was coming and we had to run for the rose-patch? I didn't fully understand what was going on, I just ran. And apparently not fast enough, because Thanos caught me. I could feel my skin crawling at his touch, my terror such I didn't even notice I was screaming until I could do it no more. _

"_Gwen!" I heard Pepper and Jane screamed. "Let her go!" _

_I was so terrified that I didn't fully notice what was going on, not until I suddenly noticed Silbhé, with a smooth expression on her face, too smooth to be real, standing on the very edge of the rose-patch, talking to Thanos. _

"_You claim to want me…" She declared in al almost sultry voice that was so unlike her it felt wrong. "But what have you done to deserve me?" _

_I was in shock, not understanding what was going on. _

"_I can offer you the life of this human." I heard Thanos say, as he manhandled me. _

_I screamed once more, and it was right then, as I flinched at the pain caused by Thanos shaking me, I could see for an instant the pain in Silbhé's eyes, the worry. It dawned on me then: she was pretending. She was putting on an act, the only way she knew how, by playing at what Thanos believed her to be, she was trying to save me. _

"_Hmm…" She murmured, in a seemingly contemplative tone. "I think not. She's not enough for me. Maybe someone more interesting…" _

"_I know just who…" He nodded. _

_I was pushed away from him, but I never fell, Silbhé caught me just right and then pushed me past her, to safety. I did not like what her actions seemed to imply, but before I could do, or say anything, her words stopped me._

"_Do not try to stop this." She whispered in a hurry. "I'm doing it for you, for all of you. Whatever happens, it is my choice. Do not leave the rose-patch." _

_Jane and Pepper took hold of me the moment I reached the protection of the rose-patch. It took me a fraction of a second to remember what was going on and I spun around, looking for Silbhé with my eyes. It was too late by then, she was out of the rose-patch; and a second later she was gone from the mansion as a whole, as was Thanos. _

_She had saved me, saved us all, at great cost to herself…I just didn't know yet how great. _

No, I didn't know. When I found out, all I could was cry. It is truly the most heartbreaking thing I've seen in my whole life. As soon as we knew for sure the battle was over Happy arranged for a private Stark plane to take us back to New York. Phil was nervous because no one would tell him anything aside from the fact that we'd won. We got to the Tower before any of the Avengers did, and we waited, and waited.

When the quinjet landed we all hurried to the landing pad. Pepper, Jane and I embraced our respective beloveds the moment they stepped out of the plane. I was still in Peter's arms when I watched Loki come out, Silbhé's limp body on his arms. I would have liked to believe she was just unconscious, but the fact that she was covered from feet to head by Loki's green cape was telling. My knees folded beneath me, and even with Peter there I collapsed and began crying. Silbhé was dead…I didn't yet know how, or why, but I couldn't help the feeling that it was my fault. Because Thanos had taken her, and she had died; and she'd turned herself to him, for me, to save me. It was, in the end, my fault. The realization was so strong I blacked out.

When I told Peter about what had happened in the mansion I could hear him whispering prayers in thanks that I was alright, even as we both thought about Loki and how he must be feeling. Also how Silbhé must have felt as she died, knowing she was leaving him behind. Because I realized in that moment, the pain wasn't only of the one who lost someone, but also of the one who had to go; in the end they were both loosing the other, not just one of them.

While Peter didn't like the idea, I still chose to own up to what had happened, what I felt at least partly responsible for, nearly two weeks later, when I confessed the truth to Loki.

_He was screaming, calling for death, for someone to kill him, he didn't want to live without his Nightingale anymore. Seeing him like that, seeing a god on his knees and so absolutely shattered was more than I could bear. What I did next somehow felt completely instinctive, and right: I went and knelt in front of Loki, head bowed down. _

"_I'm sorry!" I told him in a small voice. "I'm so very, very sorry. It's all my fault!" Once I began speaking I just couldn't hold back anymore. "When Thanos found us in the mansion, Silbhé tried to get us to safety, but I fell back. Thanos got to me, and to save me, she handed herself to him. She ended up in that position because she was protecting me! It was my fault she died!" _

_I'm not sure what happened next, if it was something in me, or in Loki, but next thing I knew Thor was holding Loki and Peter was kneeling beside me, arms around me as if ready to pull me away. I just patted his arm, signaling him to let me be. _

"_Was it her choice?" Loki asked eventually. _

"_What…?" I wasn't expecting that question, nor were almost anyone else. _

"_Nightingale's." He elaborated. "Was it her decision to offer herself in your place?" _

"_Yes…" I answered eventually, quietly. _

"_Then we must respect that decision." He stated, allowing for no further objection. "Just, always remember that the life you have now, you have it because of her; you live, when she doesn't, and while that's in no way your fault, it is still a life, a precious gift you must never waste."_

My life…a precious gift I must never waste. That is the mantra I live by now. I may never be able to pay Silbhé back for saving me, but I can live my life to the fullest to make sure her sacrifice was worthy. I am sure Loki is doing the same.

It is sad to think how none of us realized how important Silbhé was to everyone, until she was gone. I know how people say such things all the time, phrases like 'You don't know what you have until you've lost it'. It was something like that, but not. Because we had all known Silbhé, we all knew she was important, as every other inhabitant of the Avengers Tower. It still took her being gone to realize what she meant to each of us in turn.

Also, it was like her death put everything in perspective. While all the Avengers might have lost people before, in and out of the line of duty. Silbhé was as good as one of the team, the first of this team to fall. That hit them all extraordinarily hard. So much that as soon as the funeral was done and Thor had left with Loki, everyone else seemed to disband. As if by some sort of unspoken agreement. Everyone left their own way.

In my particular case, I was still working for Dr. Banner, he needed me for a research we would be conducting overseas. I agreed to go, on the condition that I would be able to return to the States in time for Peter's graduation. We agreed…what no one was counting on was the plane being late. I still didn't make it to the graduation on time.

It was awful. Peter was so understanding of course, telling me he'd gone to celebrate with MJ and Harry, and then spent some time with Aunt May. I knew it still hurt him. I managed to convince Bruce to give me some vacation and spent most of the time with Peter; something that made both of us very, very happy.

The only black spot in all that was the fact that, with how my work was going with my boss, it was unlikely that I would ever get to actually attend college with my boyfriend. True, we had attended a number of classes and lectures during the previous year, and they all counted as college credit. But I was hoping to actually get to go to the school, meet Harry, renew my old friendship with MJ, and of course be with my boyfriend. He'd told me Harry would sometimes even joke about me even existing!

Eventually the summer had to end. Peter moved into a modest apartment in downtown New York with Harry, as they were going together to College. MJ, who had recently begun dating Harry, had her own apartment and was trying to become an actress; though I was the only one who knew she actually had to work part time as a waitress since she hadn't found any acting jobs yet. She was just too ashamed of the whole thing to tell the boys.

I had promised Peter I would be back in time for Thanksgiving, and I intended to keep that promise, I swear I did…things just didn't work in my favor, yet again.

**xXx**

It was just my luck, that awful storm just had to hit the Mediterranean on Thursday, precisely when I was supposed to take the plane to New York. The thing was so huge and destructive I didn't get any hope of leaving until Saturday, I didn't even manage to do more than call Peter on Thursday and promise him I would be there as soon as I could. Just because of that I'd demanded at least a week off. It didn't matter if Peter had classes, I had to find a way to compensate him. It was the second time I missed an important date! I was even beginning to consider resigning my job as Banner's assistant; I just wasn't sure it was worth it all the time I was losing that I could be spending with Peter, and not only him but also the rest of my family. It was true I wanted to be a famous scientist, and working for Stark Industries, working for Dr. Banner was helping a lot, but none of that would ever be more important than my family, or Peter…

I felt that in our rush to run away after what had happened to Silbhé, in our hurry to get away from the grief, the pain, the memories; we had all begun to forget what was truly important. We had turned our backs on each other, when we should have stayed together the most. I might not be an Avenger myself, but I could see how wrong the whole situation was.

I had seen the news, there was a new villain in New York, and Spider-Man was alone. That wasn't supposed to happen, not again, not since the Avengers…but then again, the Avengers were as good as gone.

So finally on Friday afternoon I managed to get on the plane, and after one layover in London to refuel, we were on our way to New York. I was finally on a taxi, on my way to Peter's apartment, when the driver was forced to stop abruptly, not a single vehicle was moving on the bridge just a few yards away from us. Apparently a stand-off between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin was taking place in the Queensboro Bridge; the villain was said to have some leverage over the hero: a bus full of children and some unknown girl…

I saw Spider-Man zoom past us and I reacted instinctively. I only had a bag with me, since I still had clothes at my family's apartment. I took it, threw the payment to the taxi driver and then got out. He of course yelled that I was crazy, and I was, I knew that. Still didn't stop me. Nothing could stop me in that moment. I ran for the bridge.

I wasn't expecting it when suddenly I found another running in the same direction I was.

"You do know you're crazy going in this direction, right?" I asked him, ignoring the insanity of such a claim, seeing how I was doing the very same thing.

"Well, the bastard has my girlfriend." He pointed out as we kept running. "But you're running in the same direction from what I can see, what's your excuse?"

I was trying to find a way to answer to that, when suddenly I heard a scream, female, and which I could recognize…suddenly I knew who exactly was being held hostage up there.

"MJ!" I yelled, and it wasn't only I, the man beside me too.

We turned to look at each other, and suddenly I remembered what he just said.

"Your girlfriend…" I muttered in shock. "You're Harry!"

"Do I know you?" He asked confused.

"No, I studied in Midtown, but left right before you arrived, I think." I told him. "I'm Gwen, Gwen Stacy…Peter's girlfriend."

"Gwen…so you actually exist!" He exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" That comment certainly caught me off guard.

"Well, I've heard Pete talk about you so much, yet I've never met you…I was beginning to think you were just part of Pete's wild imagination." Harry admitted. "I even told my father that just earlier today! I'm sorry about that by the way."

"Well, as you can see I'm very real." I said, more than a bit offended. "I work with Stark Industries and that's kept me out of the country a bit too much for my liking in recent months. Anyway, MJ knows me, we've been friends since forever." I giggled. "I actually asked her to take good care of Peter for me while I was gone, make sure he didn't stray…things like that." I smirked, before remembering something else. "And why would you tell your father anything?"

"Oh, sorry, I was angry earlier." He said, ruffling his own hair. "I saw something when I visited Aunt May in the hospital…or thought I saw…"

"Aunt May's in the hospital?!" I cried out in shock.

Just what the hell had happened in the last two days?

"Yes, you did not know?" He was surprised about that.

"I've been incommunicado since a storm hit the Mediterranean on what was late Wednesday for you." I muttered. "I just arrived less than an hour ago, was on my way to see Peter, in fact."

"And you decided to make a run for the crazy villain and the strange superhero?" Harry truly must think I'm beyond crazy.

I didn't get the chance to answer him, not that I know what I would have told him anyway. Right then we were interrupted as the Green Goblin finally began yelling at Spider-Man. All the while holding a cable from which the tram full of children hung, in one hand, and in the other, MJ.

"Spider-Man!" The villain called with an evidently mad yell. "This is why only fools are heroes!"

Spider-Man didn't say a word, just stood on the bridge's tension cables, waiting.

"Because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice…" The Goblin went on, sounding more and more insane by the second.

I have no idea why I did what I did. I just heard MJ yell once again, saw Harry next to me, looking so unnerved by the whole thing, and suddenly I was yelling as well.

"If you're trying to put him before the kind of choice I think you are…" I called strongly. "You have the wrong girl there!"

Harry turned to look at me like I was crazy.

"Do you want your girlfriend back, or not?" I hissed at him quietly.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked.

I was sure I must be crazy, but I answered him anyway.

"Because that's my place, not MJ's." I answered simply.

Then, before he could ask what the hell I meant I rushed to the iron ladder on a beam out of the Tower bridge, and began climbing.

"You want me?" I challenged. "I know you do. So how about we stop the little-kid games and you let Mary Jane go, she has nothing to do with this. It's me you want."

"Gwen?!" I hear MJ gasp, in shock.

"You don't exist!" The Goblin yelled.

That was the second person I heard saying that, and while I wasn't surprise, I suddenly began wondering how he got that information. I mean, the only one to think that was Harry, right? And the only person he'd said that to was…Oh Lord…

It all suddenly seemed to clear out: Harry thought I was an imaginary girlfriend Peter had made up; he said he'd seen something in the hospital, probably Peter and MJ, and he'd overreacted; he went and told his father…and suddenly the Green Goblin kidnapped MJ to use her against Spider-Man. There was only one way such a thing was possible: The Green Goblin knew Peter was Spider-Man (it also explained Aunt May being in the hospital, even if I hadn't yet been told why); the villain also believed Peter to be in love with Mary Jane. And the only way the Green Goblin could have that information was…if he was Harry's father…Oh Lord…

"Oh, but I am very real." I kept talking, even as I felt almost like having a meltdown. "So, what will it be Goblin? Because I really hope I'm not climbing all these steps for nothing…"

"You know I want to kill you, and yet you're still climbing." The Goblin commented, voice tinted with disbelief, or so I thought.

"You have my friend, my innocent friend." I reminded him. "Besides, I don't really think you want to kill her, we both know what a certain someone would think of you if you did…"

"You know…?" He began, and I was almost sure that was hesitation in his voice.

"I know." I said simply. "He doesn't know yet, but then again, he isn't looking at all the cards at the same time." I shook my head at the analogy. "He's down there right this moment, you know? He's watching you, watching us, watching everything…can you comprehend what he's thinking, watching you do something as insane as this? What he'll think when he realizes just who you are…? I'm sure you can begin to imagine. Is that really the kind of legacy you want for yourself? Moreover, the kind of memory you want to leave Harry with?"

Because of the mask I couldn't see any emotion on the Goblin's face, still I hoped I was managing to get to him, at least a little. Though, even if I was, I knew deep down it wouldn't stop him from going through with his maquiavelian plan. It didn't matter, my choice was made already and I wasn't about to change it.

It took a while, but eventually I made it to the top of the Tower. I mentally thanked whatever made me decide to wear dark jeans, a long sleeved blouse, a jacket and flats that day rather than my usual skirt, blouse and high boots.

"Gwen…" I heard Peter whisper my name in a pained voice.

"Peter…" I whispered back, making sure only he could hear me.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked me.

"Do you remember the Nightingale?" I asked him in turn.

"How could I ever forget her?" He replied with a sigh. "I'll forever owe her so much…"

"Then you must know why I am doing this." I said simply. "For she did the very same thing for me…besides, it is the right thing to do. Why should MJ have to suffer for something that's in no way connected to her?"

"You shouldn't have to either." Peter insisted.

"Oh, but this is like that question Phil asked me that time, last year." I said with a wistful smile. "When he, and everyone else, was thoroughly convinced there was no way I could know what I was getting into. Well, I knew then, and I do now."

Spiderman kept looking at me, and I could imagine in my mind's eye the expression there must be in his eye, so full of pain and despair. I hated being the cause of it, but he knew I was right.

"Remember Nightingale Spider-Man." I told him one last time before I finally reached the Goblin. "Whatever happens, save the children."

"You're a crazy little girl, aren't you?" The Goblin asked with a crazy chuckle.

"This is my choice." I said simply, more to Peter than to him. "Now let MJ go."

Surprisingly enough, he did, he pushed her down and away from him.

"Gwen…" MJ began, so terrified, both for herself and for me.

"Just go MJ, now, before things get worse." I told her.

"I don't understand…" MJ whispered brokenly.

I just shook my head. How I wished she never had to understand…yet I knew it to be inevitable. What was happening that night, in that moment, would have far reaching consequences…

"Mary Jane!" I heard Spider-Man call to her.

I imagined he would help her get down, I hoped he would. She needed to get to Harry, then she would be safe, or so I hoped…

I didn't actually get the chance to worry too much about MJ, or Harry. The next thing I knew I was in the very position MJ had been just a minute before, being held around my neck by a gloved hand, suspended in the air, off the edge of the bridge.

"Gwen!" Spider-Man screamed in panic.

It took all my concentration not to try and fight the hold in my neck, instead I focused on signaling a quick message to Peter, just a reminder of what I'd told him already, his focus needed to be the children…

"This is your doing!" The Green Goblin yelled at my boyfriend. "You could have been my ally, instead you chose to be my enemy. You caused this! This is the life you have chosen! So what will it be Spider-Man. Let die the woman you love…or suffer the little children. Make your choice, Spider-Man, and see how a hero is rewarded!"

I knew it was coming, the decisive moment. I twisted as much as I could in the Goblin's hold to look straight at my love. I mouthed a last reminder of my decision, as well as my love, then I closed my eyes and waited.

"Choose!" I heard the Green Goblin scream.

Then I was falling.

I didn't scream as I fell, I refused to let a single sound pass my lips. I knew it would be hard enough for my love to let me fall and save the children instead, I wasn't about to make it any harder. So I just closed my eyes and waited for it all to end. I'd read and heard so many different things concerning death since first my father and then Silbhé had died. I'd read papers that claimed that those that knew death was coming would leave their bodies moments before it actually came, never having to go through any pains or tortures. Others claimed it took three days for a soul to fully detach from the body, which was why some cultures waited three days before a funeral took place. I had no idea what version I believed, I just hoped it would be over quickly…

It wasn't. It wasn't over quickly, or even slowly…the end simply did not come. What happened instead was quite different and completely unexpected. One moment I was falling to what I was sure was my doom, then, the next thing I knew my fall was stopping slowly, and then I was being laid on cold stone.

I was half unconscious, though I wasn't sure if that was a consequence of the fall or how bruised the Goblin had left my throat even before throwing me off the bridge. I felt a warm touch over my neck, and am sure I felt how the soreness disappeared slowly. I still hadn't the slightest idea what was going on. How was I even alive?

"Is she alright?" I heard a strong male voice ask above me.

"Yes." A soft and melodic female voice responded. "The injury on her neck was pretty bad. The way that villain was holding her…if even a bit more force had been applied, or if he'd held her as he was any longer…he would have snapped her neck." There was a sigh. "She was also lucky I deviated Spider-Man's webline when he tried to catch her. If he'd stopped her fall that suddenly, at the speed she was falling…that would have killed her."

"So all in all both her and the Spiderboy are very lucky we got here in time." The man replied with obvious satisfaction.

"They are." The woman agreed.

I heard some more whispering, but couldn't pay enough attention to make out what they were saying exactly. A while passed, it might have been minutes, or even hours, I did not know. When I was fully conscious I saw two people sitting on the stone floor beside me: they were Harry and MJ. I wasn't sure how exactly, but I knew they weren't the ones I'd heard talking before. I thought I could almost recognize the voices, but it hadn't been them.

It took a handful of seconds for everything to come back to me, I sat up instantly.

"Pe…Spider-Man!" I screamed in a panic.

I had to find him…I had to…I needed to make sure he was alright, needed to make sure the children were alright, and that the Goblin was taken care of…and that Peter was safe!

I was already on my feet before either Harry or MJ could do or say anything. But even when they tried to stop me it didn't mean much to me, I wasn't paying the slightest attention to them, my focus was on my love.

"Gwen you need to stop, calm down." Mary Jane insisted as she pulled on my arm.

I was about to try and answer her when I heard crashing inside the Tower, that was enough to make me ignore her as I began looking for a door inside. It took a while but I found one. It was locked, but that didn't stop me either as I broke the glass on it, then slipped my arm inside carefully to force it open. Once I had opened it I rushed inside, paying no mind to MJ's and Harry's calls of my name.

Turned out that Harry and Mary Jane had found me on a balcony in the tower. I had just entered when I watched Spider-Man go through the floor and down at least two levels. I rushed to the closest staircase, running down it until I was on a landing, not far from where my boyfriend had just landed. I was going to keep running until I noticed something: he wasn't moving. He wasn't moving and the Green Goblin was about to hit him again. I didn't even stop to think about it, I just screamed as loud as I could:

"PETER!"

I didn't even notice when MJ and Harry arrived right behind me. My whole attention fixed on Spider-Man as he seemed to get a second wind and suddenly had the Goblin covered in so many webs it would take him a good while to get free again.

"Is that really Peter?" MJ asked in a whisper, apparently having a hard time understanding it.

Beside her Harry gasped loudly, either he somehow hadn't heard my scream before (which was pretty much impossible), or he just hadn't processed everything until MJ voiced the question. I didn't care about it either way. In that moment I just cared about one thing, one person, and he was still too far out of my reach for my liking!

I watched as Spider-Man turned around to look at us. I might not have been able to see his eyes, but I could imagine the expression on his face. He'd just seen me fall to what was sure to be my death, he'd been unable to do anything to save me…and suddenly I was there.

I couldn't stand there anymore. Ignoring Harry and MJ yet again I rushed down the last flight of stairs. The moment I was close enough I jumped onto his arms, arms around his back and burying my face in his neck. I began to cry. I did not even know why I was crying exactly: Was it because I'd almost died, because he was so badly hurt, because we were back together? Or maybe all of them at the same time…He just held me back, tightly, so tightly I could feel it in my bones…yet it didn't really hurt. No, that was exactly what I needed in that moment.

"You're alive…" I heard him whisper as he buried his masked face into my blonde hair. "Oh God… you're alive…"

"I'm alive." I agreed.

"How?" He asked, pulling my face off his neck to look at me. "I mean…I threw a webline, but it didn't reach you."

"I honestly do not know." I shrugged, I could remember the voices, but not who they might belong to. "I'm just so thankful for it."

"Me too. You're right. That's all that matters."

We did nothing except hold each other for a long while. Everything was perfect in that moment, absolutely perfect. I knew there was still the Green goblin to take care of; and Harry and MJ, who knew about Peter now; and whoever it was that had saved my life, well, two people in fact, though I hadn't the slightest idea who they might be, just an instinct that I should, that I, in fact, knew those voices, I just wasn't making the connection.

Before I could say anything more a roar echoed in all the corners of the half-destroyed Tower. It sounded almost like some wild animal, if an animal could say a name, or at least try to. I looked over Peter's shoulder, seeing the Goblin as, with a hard tug, he managed to tear the last pieces of webbing keeping him immobile. However, there was still the web covering a good deal of its face (or more precisely the mask). He didn't seem to like it, kept clawing at it without success, until eventually he seemed to decide to just fully rip the mask off. I couldn't believe the face that revealed itself in that moment.

"Peter…" I heard him call my boyfriend's name, but I was only half paying attention.

I knew who Norman Osborn was, I might have never seen him in person, but I had seen many pictures of him. As Dr. Curtis Connors's head intern I had a fairly high security level. I knew some things about the top secret experiments the company was working on, both the cross-species serum and the super-soldier formula. I had also heard the rumor of Norman Osborn being very sick, almost on his death bed, and how that was the reason why all the scientists were being pressured so much into presenting results. It was that pressured that had caused the mess with the Lizard…and apparently now with the Goblin as well.

I was brought out of my musings as Peter turned around, pushing me behind him and taking a protective stance. I rolled my eyes yet smiled at the same time, that was my boyfriend alright…

"Can't be…" I heard Peter whisper in front of me. "You're a monster…"

"Please, Peter, don't let it take me back." Mr. Osborn said as he dropped to his knees. "I need your help. I'm not a monster."

"You killed those people on the balcony." Peter said, in a disbelieving tone. "You could have killed your son…"

I didn't believe it either, however, Peter's words reminded me of something else: Harry and MJ standing on the landing. I turned to find them standing there in absolute shock. Harry in particular looked as if the carpet had been moved from beneath his feet, like he wouldn't still be standing if it weren't for MJ's arms around him. It reminded me painfully of what my own face must have looked like when my dad died. Except in a way it was worse, because Norman Osborn was physically still there, even if he wasn't the man he should have been.

Not a word was said, for the longest time it was as if each of us had been rooted to our spots. And then… it was like a switch being flipped. Something began changing in Mr. Osborn's eyes, we could all practically watch the insanity…the goblin…creeping in.

Seeing that change in Mr. Osborn made me nervous. The last thing I wanted was for Spider-Man to have to go back to fighting him, he was already injured badly enough; and I wasn't sure how Harry would react if they were to go back to that in front of him. I wasn't expecting it at all when, abruptly, a tall male figure materialized right behind the unmasked Green Goblin and placed a hand at the joint between head and neck; a second later the Goblin was on the ground, seizing.

"Dad!" Harry yelled loudly from above.

I didn't even pay attention to the strange newcomer, though a corner of my mind told me it was no stranger at all. Instead I focused on Harry, who was running in our direction. I barely managed to call Peter's attention in time for both of us to stop him from running straight to his dad. MJ for her part did nothing but stand there, I think she might have been too shell-shocked.

"Easy Harry…" Peter told him as soothingly as he could.

"Let me go Spider-Man!" Harry demanded in turn. "I need to get to my dad!"

I didn't even notice what Peter pretended until suddenly his mask was off. MJ gasped, and Harry himself looked completely shocked, I didn't say a word.

"Harry, Harry listen to me, it's me, Peter. I need you to listen." Peter said. "I know you're worried for your dad. But you cannot just rush in. We don't know what he might do…"

"That man is hurting him!" Harry yelled. "I have to help him! If you're truly Peter, help us!"

"We do not know that for sure." I put in my two cents. "And I very much doubt it."

"I promise you, I am Peter." My boyfriend assured him. "And like Gwen, I doubt he's here to hurt your dad. I'm quite sure he's here to help us, already has in fact. I'm right, aren't I, Loki?"

At that I turned to actually look at the stranger. He was right, it was Loki. Loki was back.


	3. The Enemy

While the chapter is called the Enemy, it's actually being narrated by the Enemy's son... meaning Harry. Just so you know.

* * *

**The Enemy **

Life wasn't supposed to be this complicated, I mean, at least I don't think so. I truly hope that whatever is waiting for us waiting in the afterlife is better than what we can find here on Earth, because thus far life has been more than a little…disappointing. Really, only three people thus far make it worth living, though until recently it was only two, and there was a moment when I doubted even them…

My name is Harold Osborn, though I prefer to be called Harry. I am the only son of the founder and CEO Norman Osborn…well, I supposed it must be 'was the son' and 'former CEO', but that is part of the story too. My mother died when I was still an infant, I was an only son and my father never had much time for me. I think he was disappointed that I wasn't more like him, a scientist, with a drive to be the best in the world…no, according to my nana I just had too much of my mother in me. I loved things like music and cooking more than science and was quite happy with going through life with as little complications as possible.

So yes, I was a disappointment of a son. For years I did anything and everything I could to call my father's attention. Like, I crashed a number of cars he bought me from my sixteen birthday on, I got drunk time and again, I even tried drugs once or twice, extreme sports, and kept flunking school. And while I managed to capture his attention for short periods of time with each mess, in the end it just seemed to make things worse.

Eventually, my grades got so bad in High-School that I actually lost a year, what I was never expecting, was when my father, instead of sending me to yet another private school in some part of New York, chose to send me to public school: Midtown Science High-School, to be precise. I was awful at anything science!

However, it was thanks to being there that I met Peter Parker, and my life changed completely:

_My driver had dropped me on the first day of school and I was already making plans to get myself expelled from that school as well, as I had from all the others before. I had just stepped into the campus when I saw him: tall, lanky figure, with a mop of brown hair and light brown eyes dressed in simple jeans and a short-sleeved shirt. He seemed to be waiting for something. _

"_Hello." He greeted, offering me his hand. "You must be the new senior." _

_So that meant he probably was waiting for me. Still, I did not answer and I ignored his hand completely. I wasn't interested in making friends. I'd never had any real friends anyway. _

"_My name is Peter, Peter Parker." He introduced himself, ignoring my discourtesy. "Your name is Harold Osborn, right?" _

"_Harry." I couldn't help but correct. _

_He just smiled at me. _

"_You and I share some classes, so I'll help you where I can." He told me as we began walking to the building. "Whenever I'm not there you can ask either Flash or MJ. I'll introduce you to them when we get to the classroom." _

He did, indeed introduce me to them, the two were as different from each other as they were from Peter himself. The first a basketball player, pretty much a jock, and from what I heard around, also a former bully. It appeared Peter had been his favorite victim, until the two had become friends during the last term…I had no idea how such a thing could even be possible. MJ, who was in fact called Mary Jane Watson, was Flash's girlfriend, and Peter's neighbor and childhood friend, she was beautiful and popular, the kind of girl that should be a model, or an actress.

Even with all those differences, the two were quite good friends with Peter. It was Mary Jane who explained to me that Peter was a prodigy, a year younger than the rest of them (therefore two years younger than I), he was already taking college courses. Apparently he wasn't taking all the classes we were because he'd taken them before, along with his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, who was about to graduate and already working as assistant to some scientist in Stark Industries.

I'm not sure how it happened, or when, but eventually I stopped resisting. Peter and I became friends. I never got along too well with Flash, we were just too different, but at least we tolerated each other, Mary Jane was nice too, and I never got to meet Gwen.

It was until a couple of months later, after I failed midterms, that I actually had a truly serious conversation with Peter:

"_Why did you do it Harry?" He asked me, seemingly out of nowhere. _

"_What are you talking about Pete?" I asked, not getting it right away. _

"_I mean failing midterms." He clarified. _

"_Who says I did it on purpose?" I asked defensively. "Maybe I'm just stupid." _

"_Believing that, is stupid." He deadpanned. "Come on Harry, you can tell me the truth." _

"_What truth do you expect me to tell you Pete?" I asked him tiredly. _

"_Why are you failing on purpose? And please, do not tell me you're stupid, or anything along those lines. We both know that's not true. When we were all studying together you were doing pretty good. You might not be a prodigy, but you knew what we were practicing. You should have gotten at least a C+, most likely even a B in those tests. So why didn't you?" _

"_I just don't care." I admitted, finally. _

"_What?" He obviously wasn't expecting that. _

"_You want the truth?" I was tired, and decided to simply say it. "Well, here it is. I never wanted to come here. I planned to flunk out, get myself expelled as soon as possible. Once that happens I'll be able to get into another private school. And maybe this time I'll get my father's attention for more than a few hours…" _

"_Wait, so you're doing this to call your father's attention?" He, somehow, managed to get straight to the important part of it all. "You're failing school, pretty much ruining your life, to get some of his attention?" He shook his head. "Are you insane?!"_

"_Pete…" I really didn't want some speech… _

"_No, really Harry. I understand wanting to get your father's attention. But to ruin your life over this?! That's what I don't get. I mean, if he doesn't pay attention to you, that's his problem, not yours. Why must you ruin your life because he's a bad father?" _

_I had no answer to that. However, he misinterpreted my silence. _

"_I'm sorry…" He began apologizing and babbling almost instantly. "I know I shouldn't be judging anyone, especially not your dad. And I shouldn't say I understand anything when I don't even have a father…though my uncle Ben was as good as one, he really was and…" _

"_It's okay Pete." I managed to interrupt him after a while. _

"_Harry…" He obviously still felt bad about it. _

"_It's okay." I insisted. "I just…no one had ever told me something like that. I…I guess I needed to hear someone say it." I focused. "I don't need to ruin my life because Norman is a lousy dad." _

"_No, you really don't." He agreed. _

"_I still will never be as good as you." I pointed out with a small smile. _

"_Actually, I'm only second best in this school, in our generation." He said impishly. _

"_Really, who's the first?" I couldn't believe that. _

"_Gwen." He answered proudly, then went on. "It doesn't matter if you're the best of a group or a generation or not. What matters is that you're the best you yourself can be." _

The best me I can be…I didn't realize it then, but those words would change my life.

I actually got to see more of Peter during the second half of senior year. According to what he and MJ said, Gwen had graduated High-School in December and would be spending more time at work now. Also, before graduating we all needed to work on a number or projects that would require Peter to spend more time in Midtown himself; even though he was now an intern at Stark Industries too. And for the life of me I couldn't understand how that had happened. I mean, it's really nothing against Peter. Truly. If he wanted to be an intern, why didn't he tell me? I would have helped him get an interview an OsCorp! At least there he would get paid! I honestly believed Stark was taking advantage of his talents and his youth. Then again, Tony Stark was everything I wasn't, everything I'm sure my father wished I was, had always been, even at my age; so what did I know?

Then there was the whole Iron Man business. Really, I've never been much of a fan of heroes. The Fantastic Four, Iron Man even the Captain America, were all little more than attention seeking freaks, as far as I was concerned. Yes, even if the 4 were already retired and had been for years. Then there were others, like the X-Men, who seemed to cause more destruction than help, one only had to see what had happened at the Golden Gate Bridge several years ago. And finally there was the arachnid, Spider-Man, I hadn't the slightest idea what he was supposed to be about? Really, one day the people loved him (I certainly knew Flash was crazy about him), and then there were other days when everyone called him a menace and the police issued arrest warrants against him; what were we normal people supposed to believe?

So, in few words, I didn't hold much faith for the so-called heroes of New York, or anywhere in the world really. I knew that opinion might change at some point in the future, but I didn't hold much hope for it. And really, most of the time I had other, far more important things to worry about. Like school, and the fact that I was finally doing well, and I just might, might be able to go to college after all!

So we finished High-School, and yet again Peter's girlfriend shone by her absence. Really, when he, MJ and I went out for a short while to celebrate he told me her plane had been delayed, she would be arriving the next day. Not like I would know since I was going on a business trip for the duration of the summer, my father was trying, once again, to get me interested in the company. Science and business really weren't my thing, but he just couldn't understand that.

In the end all three of us had dinner with Aunt May. The woman really was a godsend, especially considering how crappy MJ's and my family were… The next day I left with my dad, and I knew MJ was making an early start on New York to get auditions and a good, cheap apartment. Peter was supposed to be spending the summer still with his aunt and with his girlfriend. I don't know if he actually did.

Once the summer was over Peter and I moved into the small apartment we were renting together. I would rather we have gotten something bigger, better; but Peter refused to allow me to pay for it on my own, and he couldn't afford his half on anything better than that, so I accepted it. To be honest the small size and the conditions didn't affect me. While it is true it wasn't the kind of living conditions I was used to, the small apartment was still far more welcoming, cozy, homey, than my father's penthouse could ever be…

So we began college, my best friend and I, together. I thought that maybe I would finally get the chance to meet the elusive girlfriend, I didn't. Apparently she was taking most classes online, except for those she'd been taking the previous year and during the summer, with Peter. In that moment she was in Europe, helping her bosses with some tour. I didn't understand much of it, nor did I care, in the end.

Months passed. Things with my dad seemed to be getting more and more strange. I had long since stopped telling Peter about my troubles, ever since, during graduation, I discovered something that, even months later still hurt me: my own father preferred Peter over me, wished he were his son instead of me. It was something I didn't dare tell Peter; he'd already told me before that he didn't like my dad very much, if only for the way he treated me, and even with his parents dead since he was four, even with his uncle dead, Ben Parker was all the father, the only father, he would ever need. He'd said it more than once, and I believed him, I just wish I could have someone who gave me that kind of security.

Weeks passed, and Thanksgiving was coming, plans were made. I was so shocked when my dad said yes to the invitation to share Thanksgiving dinner with Aunt May, Peter, MJ and I in the apartment…once again Gwen Stacy was supposed to be there, but she didn't show. However, I couldn't focus on that when the dinner itself was enough of a mess.

It began before the dinner in fact. With the chaos that took place during that parade, the appearance of the so-called Green Goblin. All the men it killed, and almost a few children, and even MJ! Really if it hadn't been for Spider-Man…Ok, so that might have been the first time ever I was thankful there were superheroes in the world, or at least Spider-Man. It didn't make that night any better though.

Really, I had thought revealing MJ and I were dating would be hard enough for Peter (since I knew Pete thought she was beautiful and was beginning to suspect Gwen Stacy might not exist at all, or even if she did she wasn't his girlfriend and Peter was secretly in love with MJ). In the end Peter took it well enough, he even congratulated both of us (I suspect he might have known beforehand). No, it was my father who took it badly. He insulted my girlfriend, and myself, in so many ways…and then he walked out on all of us. It was awful.

Then, the cherry on the cake. The Green Goblin attacked Aunt May that very same night. How it happened, why her, why exactly then…? I had no idea. And when I actually found out, I wish I still remained ignorant. Ignorance truly is bliss…

I remember, with painful, crystal, clarity, that moment in Aunt May's hospital room. With Peter and MJ beside Aunt May's bed, holding hands, whispering to each other…maybe I'm truly stupid in the end, but in that moment I honestly believed all my fears were true: that Peter truly was in love with MJ, and she had finally noticed how much better than me he was.

Still, the greatest stupidity in everything, was thinking, even for a minute, that my father actually cared about my feelings. It's why I told him everything: about what I'd seen in that room, how I believed Gwen not to be real, and how Pete must be in love with her and, obviously, she had to choose him…I would therefore end up all alone…

Stupid, so stupid, and completely innocent people would end up being the ones to pay for my mistakes, my stupidity. That was really all I could think of as I ran down the Queensboro bridge, trying to get to the Tower. I hadn't the slightest idea of what I was going to do exactly, all I knew was that the Green Goblin had taken MJ, and I had to get her back…It really is a wonder I wasn't able to connect the dots right then at there. I mean, I tell my father I think Pete is in love with MJ, less than an hour later she gets kidnapped by the Goblin, in a ploy to destroy Spider-Man. Really, I should have at least suspected something!

**xXx**

All I could think in that moment was Mary Jane, and getting her back. So focused I was I didn't notice the blonde running in the same direction I was, the only one doing such a seemingly insane thing, until I almost crashed against her.

"You do know you're crazy going in this direction, right?" She asked me.

For a few seconds I just watched her in silence even as we both kept running. Was she seriously asking me that when she was doing the very same thing?

"Well, the bastard has my girlfriend." I told her eventually. "But you're running in the same direction from what I can see, what's your excuse?"

She didn't get to answer, and I completely forgot my question when a female scream from above interrupted us.

"MJ!" I yelled, and it wasn't only I, the girl beside me too.

For a few moments we just looked at each other in a mix of surprise and confusion, in the end, she reacted first.

"Your girlfriend…" She whispered, suddenly seeming to realize something. "You're Harry!"

"Do I know you?" Who was her? How did she know me?

"No, I studied in Midtown, but left right before you arrived, I think." She answered in a pensive manner. "I'm Gwen, Gwen Stacy…Peter's girlfriend."

"Gwen…so you actually exist!" I couldn't believe it.

"Excuse me?" She seemed at least a bit offended by my comment.

"Well, I've heard Pete talk about you so much, yet I've never met you…I was beginning to think you were just part of Pete's wild imagination." I admitted, trying not to make things worse. "I even told my father that just earlier today! I'm sorry about that by the way."

Really, I should have had more faith in my best friend; the fact that I'd never met his girlfriend didn't mean he was making her up. In fact, if I had stopped to think about it I might have realized that Peter just wasn't the kind to make up a girlfriend just so others wouldn't know he was alone. He was more the kind to be forever in love with one person, even if he never got to tell her, than just make someone up…

"Well, as you can see I'm very real." She said, affronted. "I work with Stark Industries and that's kept me out of the country a bit too much for my liking in recent months. Anyway, MJ knows me, we've been friends since forever." She actually giggled slightly at that point, apparently remembering something. "I actually asked her to take good care of Peter for me while I was gone, make sure he didn't stray…things like that." For a second she smirked, before her expression changed completely. "And why would you tell your father anything?"

"Oh, sorry, I was angry earlier." I admitted, feeling more than a little embarrassed by the whole thing. "I saw something when I visited Aunt May in the hospital…or thought I saw…"

"Aunt May's in the hospital?!" She cried out, horrified.

She obviously hadn't known that. How could she not know…?

"Yes, you did not know?" I couldn't believe it.

"I've been incommunicado since a storm hit the Mediterranean on what was late Wednesday for you." She muttered. "I just arrived less than an hour ago, was on my way to see Peter, in fact."

"And you decided to make a run for the crazy villain and the strange superhero?" I really don't think I'll ever understand that girl.

She didn't answer me, not like I would have paid much attention to him, as right then the Green Goblin began yelling at Spider-Man, right above us.

"Spider-Man!" The villain called with an evidently mad yell. "This is why only fools are heroes!"

Spider-Man didn't say a word, just stood on the bridge's tension cables, waiting.

"Because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice…" The Goblin went on, sounding more and more insane by the second.

MJ screamed right then, she was obviously terrified. And I could only watch the whole thing with growing horror. Just what was I supposed to do? This was a battle between two clearly inhuman individuals, with my girlfriend and twelve children smacked right in the middle. How was I supposed to do anything? I could have never expected what happened next:

"If you're trying to put him before the kind of choice I think you are…" The blonde beside me began yelling strongly. "You have the wrong girl there!"

The ones above us stopped their argument to turn to look at us, I could only watch her in disbelief. Had she really done what I thought she had? Yes she had, she had just called the attention of the aforementioned inhumans upon herself…what the hell was wrong with her?!

"Do you want your girlfriend back, or not?" She hissed at me in a low voice, as if that explained everything, as if that explained why she was acting all suicidal…

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"Because that's my place, not MJ's." As if that was in any way logical.

She didn't give me the chance to demand any further explanations, instead she just rushed to the metal ladder outside of the tower and began climbing.

"You want me?" I heard her challenge as she climbed. "I know you do. So how about we stop the little-kid games and you let Mary Jane go, she has nothing to do with this. It's me you want."

I think I might have heard MJ gasp, probably her friend's name; after all, she actually knew Gwen, that she was real, and Pete's girl, and all that…

"You don't exist!" The Goblin yelled.

Wait, what? Whyever would the goblin say that? I mean, it was one thing for me to think that, but where would he get that idea from? Scratch that, how did he even know Gwen was saying the truth, that she belonged there with him and not MJ. Really, it's not like the two girls had that much in common, sure they were both Midtown graduates, but this couldn't be about a school. Maybe they both dated Flash? I don't know about Gwen, though MJ certainly did. Aside from those, the only other thing they have in common is Peter…and what does Pete have to do with anything? He's not even on the bridge!

"Oh, but I am very real." Gwen kept talking as she climbed. "So, what will it be Goblin? Because I really hope I'm not climbing all these steps for nothing…"

"You know I want to kill you, and yet you're still climbing." The Goblin commented, I was almost sure there was some disbelief in his voice.

"You have my friend, my innocent friend." Gwen stated. "Besides, I don't really think you want to kill her, we both know what a certain someone would think of you if you did…"

The Goblin might have said something then, but it was too quiet for me to hear.

"I know." The blonde said, it seemed to be an answer. "He doesn't know yet, but then again, he isn't looking at all the cards at the same time. He's down there right this moment, you know? He's watching you, watching us, watching everything…can you comprehend what he's thinking, watching you do something as insane as this? What he'll think when he realizes just who you are…? I'm sure you can begin to imagine. Is that really the kind of legacy you want for yourself? Moreover, the kind of memory you want to leave Harry with?"

Me? What did I have to do with anything? No…I just…I really did not want to think about it. Not yet…not ever…

I think there might have been a quiet exchange between Spider-Man and Gwen. And really, how can she claim to be Spider-Man's girl, right after she told she me she was Peter's girlfriend? Is she lying to one of us? Or am I just in that much denial?

"Remember Nightingale Spider-Man." Gwen finished louder than before, as she went to stand before the crazed villain. "Whatever happens, save the children."

It was so strange: a psychotic bastard wanted to kill her, or more like, use her against a superhero, then kill her; yet she was so calm…and she was telling Spider-Man to remember something, or someone…I didn't understand.

"You're a crazy little girl, aren't you?" The Goblin asked with a crazy chuckle.

"This is my choice." The blonde girl declared. "Now let MJ go."

I'm sure we were all surprised when he actually let her go.

I didn't say a thing, just waiting to see what would happen next. I didn't believe it could be that easy. But then again, it wasn't easy at all, was it? Even if the bastard let MJ go, he still had Gwen and the children. The mess wasn't over just yet.

"Mary Jane!" I heard Spider-Man call to her.

Just how did Spider-Man know my girlfriend's name?

No, I'm not really that oblivious, or stupid, I'm just really in that much denial.

Spider-Man used a webline to slowly lower MJ beside me, faster and safer than any possible method. The moment she was free my girlfriend pretty much fell in my arms. I imagine she would have fallen into pieces too if our attention hadn't been pulled abruptly right then by Spider-Man's sudden cry:

"Gwen!" He screamed in panic.

The Green Goblin was holding her by the neck, off the edge of the Tower, and the bridge; while in his other hand he still held the tension cable with the tram full of children. What surprised me the most was that while the children kept crying, screaming and calling for help, Gwen wasn't so much as trying to fight, she wasn't even moving.

"This is your doing!" The Green Goblin yelled at the superhero. "You could have been my ally, instead you chose to be my enemy. You caused this! This is the life you have chosen! So what will it be Spider-Man. Let die the woman you love…or suffer the little children. Make your choice, Spider-Man, and see how a hero is rewarded!"

MJ and I could just watch, as he held onto one another, wondering just what choice Spider-Man would make. I didn't even want to contemplate what choice I would do in his place. Really, for so long I'd thought the worst of heroes, I never imagined how hard it might be to be them, never until I watched the impossible choice Spider-Man was being forced to make.

"Choose!" The Green Goblin screamed.

I just held my breath as I watched the young blonde fall off one side of the Tower, past the bridge and still down; while on the other side the tram fell as well, with Spider-Man jumping after them. I couldn't comprehend how he, how anyone could possibly make such a choice. And especially, how can anyone be so selfless as to give up someone dear, because it was obvious Gwen was someone dear to Spider-Man; whether he was, like I'd begun to suspect, Peter and she was his girlfriend, or they were just friends. It still was too much for me.

"Come Harry!" Mary Jane called suddenly.

I didn't understand what was going on until I noticed she'd begun climbing up the metal ladder. The same one Gwen had climbed to reach the Green Goblin.

"MJ!" I cried out nervously. "What are you doing? We should be getting away from here!"

"Not yet!" MJ yelled back at me. "Come on Harry, I think I saw something."

She wouldn't stop climbing, so in the end I was forced to follow. I certainly had seen something: I had seen the psychotic villain throw one girl and a tram full of children to their death as part of his torture to a superhero. So many innocents were probably dead because of those two…And yet, MJ wanted to go up, not down, why?

I got the answer when I reached the level where my girlfriend had gotten off the ladder. We were on a stone balcony.

"MJ?!" I called, worried that the Goblin might find us.

What I found when I finally reached her…well it certainly wasn't something I could have ever expected. Not even in my wildest dreams. It was Gwen. She was laying on the stone-cold floor, unconscious, but alive. How was that possible?

"MJ?" I called, not quite sure how to even voice any question.

"I don't know what happened Harry." She told me quietly, seating beside her unconscious friend. "When we were down there, I thought I could see a brief flash of light, it's why I wanted to come up. Though I didn't know it would be this…" She turned to me with wide, confused and fearful eyes. "How is this possible Harry? I watched her fall…"

As had I…but I didn't have time to have a meltdown myself, not when my girlfriend was counting on me to support her, give her comfort…

"I honestly don't know MJ." I admitted to her. "The kind of things going on here: mutations, powers, sacrifices…this is just…not normal."

"Yet my perfectly normal friend is involved." She pointed out. "She sacrificed herself Harry, for me! She could have died, and it would have been for me! It was I who the Goblin had first chosen to use against Spider-Man."

"But you weren't the one he really wanted…" I pointed out, thinking of what Gwen had said.

"I still was the one who was going to be thrown off this very tower until she arrived."

"Did you see anyone when you got here?" I decided to try a somewhat safer topic, also more important to our situation. "Maybe that would explain how she got here…"

"I think I saw someone, two people in fact, beside Gwen." My girlfriend admitted. "However, they disappeared too fast for me to be sure of anything."

Neither of us got to say anything more, as right then Gwen woke up: eyes snapping open, body sitting up instantly even as she began yelling:

"Pe…Spider-Man!"

She was on her feet quite fast, almost too fast considering that a few seconds ago she'd been unconscious, and less than five minutes ago she was supposed to have fallen to her death…

MJ and I tried to reason with her, get her to calm down, yet Gwen didn't seem to be able to hear us, no, she was too focused on something, or rather someone else.

"Gwen you need to stop, calm down." Mary Jane insisted as she pulled on her arm.

I was about to add my two cents into the conversation when we all could suddenly hear crashing inside the Tower, loud enough that none of us said a word. In the next second Gwen was breaking the glass on the door to the balcony where we were standing and forcing her way inside; nothing either of us said was enough to stop her.

Mary Jane and I followed Gwen into the Tower and down several flights of stairs, until we stopped rather abruptly after almost crashing against the blonde's back; just a level above where Spider-Man lay, injured and unmoving on the floor. The goblin was rushing his way, about to hit him, and I wondered briefly if that was really how it all would end…until Gwen screamed:

"PETER!"

We all witnessed how Spider-Man was suddenly able to roll out of the Goblin's attack, to then flip back onto his feet and begin shooting webs so fast it was hard to follow all his movements. In a matter of seconds the Green Goblin was unable to move and with its face completely covered. He fought against the webbing, but it was hard.

"Is that really Peter?" MJ asked in a whisper, apparently having a hard time understanding it.

I couldn't help the gasp that escaped me, while it may be true I'm not an idiot, or blind, or anything along those lines; I'd still been doing my best to not actually think about such things. Because thinking and accepting the fact that Pete, the nerd, lanky, awkward, my-best-and-only-friend Peter Parker was actually Spider-Man; meant also having to deal with the most likely (and thus far only) person to possibly be hiding behind the Goblin's mask. And so I kept on just not thinking about, I wouldn't until I had no other choice…

That moment came just a few minutes later when a roar echoed all around the half destroyed Tower. It sounded almost like some wild animal, though I knew it was the green Goblin, the bastard who had finally managed to free himself. Except for the webbing covering his face, he didn't seem to be able to tear that one. He kept trying, and trying, until eventually he seemed to run out of patience, and he simply ripped the mask off his head. The moment his face was revealed…I just froze in place.

I couldn't believe it, I refused to believe it. The face beneath that monster just couldn't be my father…it couldn't…he couldn't…

"Peter…" I heard him call.

It was strange with how much clarity I was able to hear him call my best-friend's name, still my brain was having trouble processing everything. I could only half feel Mary Jane's nails digging into my arm, it was obvious she was in shock as well, but mine was more than enough to take me under, it was as if for a few seconds I didn't even exist.

"Can't be…" Spider-Man's whisper sounded almost too loud. "You're a monster…"

"Please, Peter, don't let it take me back." My dad said in a low, weak voice as he dropped to his knees. "I need your help. I'm not a monster."

"You killed those people on the balcony." Spider-Man said, in a disbelieving tone. "You could have killed your son…"

It was as if his words worked some kind of magic, suddenly everyone remembered I was there. I didn't pay them any mind though, no, it was taking enough concentration already not to black out from the shock everything was causing me.

My father…my father was a monster…how was I supposed to deal with that? Can anyone deal with such a discovery without going insane?

Something changed then, though I wasn't sure what exactly at first, very little of my attention was on the present, most of it still fighting to make myself accept the truths that had just been dumped upon me. However, something was able to bring me out of my shock rather forcefully: my father collapsing to the ground, in full seizure, right as he was beginning to stand.

"Dad!" I screamed without even thinking about it.

In that moment my mind narrowed on two things: my father on the ground, and the black-haired man in the green and black clothes standing behind him, observing him with a cold expression. I knew it had to be his fault that my father was like that, and I had to do something. In that moment it didn't matter that my father was the Goblin, a villain, a murderer, I still needed to protect him from whoever it was that had just appeared out of nowhere and hurt him.

I ran down the last flight of stairs, but before I could actually reach my dad I was stopped in my tracks by both Spider-Man and Gwen. I tried to push them to a side, but the superhero was just too strong for me, and Mary Jane wasn't doing anything to help me!

"Easy Harry…" I heard the so-called hero begin to speak.

I didn't want to hear him! All I wanted was to get to my father!

"Let me go Spider-Man!" I demanded angrily. "I need to get to my dad!"

I would have kept yelling at him if he hadn't taken his mask off right in that very moment. The shock of seeing my best-friend's face beneath the red spandex was enough to derail me for a moment. There was a grim expression on his face, so unlike any I may have seen before on him, it made me realize just how serious, how real everything was.

"Harry, Harry listen to me, it's me, Peter. I need you to listen." He told me in a slow, purposeful voice, obviously trying to calm me. "I know you're worried for your dad. But you cannot just rush in. We don't know what he might do…"

"That man is hurting him!" I yelled. "I have to help him! If you're truly Peter, help us!"

Really, I knew he'd been fighting my father, and even if in that moment I wasn't exactly thinking of what he'd done to Gwen, to those children…even then, if I was his best-friend, like he was mine, shouldn't he be helping me?

"We do not know that for sure." Gwen tried to convince me. "And I very much doubt it."

I came so close to snapping right then and there. What did she know?! My father was seizing in the ground and she didn't care!

"I promise you, I am Peter." He assured me. "And like Gwen, I doubt he's here to hurt your dad. I'm quite sure he's here to help us, already has in fact. I'm right, aren't I, Loki?"

Loki…my mind repeated the name a few times. So that meant he knew the newcomer, he knew the one hurting my dad! So Peter must be an enemy then!

I pulled back my fist, meaning to smash it straight on his face, he stopped my hand before I could do any such thing.

"Harry…" He called me, this time with much more authority than I could have ever believed him capable of. "Harry, calm down, focus. Yes, I know Loki. I promise you he's not an enemy, neither am I. Truly…" he turned to the side. "Loki, can you please tell Harry that you're not here to murder his father?"

"I should…" The one named Loki stated in a disdainful tone. "After all the mess he's caused…" He shook his head. "But no, I'm not here to kill him. It's not my call, and in the end, he's dying already anyway. No matter what you, any of you, or I, or anyone really does, he'll be dead in a few hours at most."

"Are you sure something cannot be done to stop it Loki?" I heard Gwen ask him.

Great, so she knows him too? Who exactly is he?

"Not even an Asgardian healer would be able to heal what's wrong with him." The black-haired man stated dryly. "It's been there for too long."

"What exactly is wrong?" Peter asked.

"Is this connected to the serum?" Gwen inquired at the same time.

We all turned to look at her.

"The super-soldier serum." She clarified. "I may not have worked in OsCorp for over a year now, but it was already in the works when I was there. And even then some of us knew how insane the mere idea was. Really, yet another attempt to recreate the serum that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America? As if we don't know what happened to the last man who tried that? Or the dozen that came before him."

The Hulk, and the dozen that died during the experiments; she was right saying it was insane. Still, I hadn't known, there was a lot of OsCorp I'd never understood.

"Yes, it's connected to the serum." Loki nodded. "You must know by now that what happened to Spider-Man, mutating, and not during the formation in the womb but after one is already grown; doing such a thing and surviving is a feat in and of itself; being able to also retain full mental capacities and a perfect moral compass…it's next to impossible. Really, thus far I don't know of anyone other than you Spidey, the Hulk and the Capsicle than can lay claim to such a thing. And even then we all know things aren't perfect."

I had no idea what he meant, but it seemed like Gwen and Peter did. In any case, I decided it didn't really mattered. All that mattered to me in that moment was my dad.

"The serum has been killing this man ever since he first injected it to himself." The man stated with no emotion. "Also, the amounts he used on himself…it's a miracle in and of itself that's he's even alive, and especially that he's in any way coherent, and even recognizing people."

"The insanity…" Gwen began, but didn't dare finish.

"Isn't there anything you can do for him?" Peter asked instead.

"I've just done all I could be done." Loki declared. "I stopped the deterioration to the areas of his brain that allow him to be coherent, to think as a man, as a father. Still, that won't stop the fact that his body is failing already." He shook his head. "I may have no love lost for the man, but I know how much you hate for anyone to die Spidey. Trust me, if something could be done, I would have done it."

"I trust you." Peter agreed.

He may, but I certainly did not.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Loki Odinson, of Asgard." He introduced himself simply.

That still didn't mean anything to me.

"Loki, thank you." Gwen called to him with a smile and a bow in obvious gratitude.

Loki just raised a brow.

"It was you who saved me, wasn't it?" She asked calmly. "It's because of you that I'm alive."

"I wasn't alone." He admitted. "And no thanks are necessary. I owed a debt to your match, I chose to pay it this way."

"You owed me nothing Loki." Peter told him with a shake of his head and a small smile. "But still, you have my thanks." He wound an arm around his girlfriend's waist. "I don't know what I would do without Gwen."

"I know exactly what you mean…" He whispered quietly.

I could see the shadow of pain that crossed Peter's and Gwen's eyes and couldn't help but wonder what it meant. There was so much I didn't know…but then again, an hour before I hadn't known my best-friend was a superhero either. However, my attention was pulled away suddenly as a moan left my dad's mouth, followed my two words:

"Ha-Harry…? Son?" He called hesitantly.

Immediately I forgot all about Peter, Gwen, Loki and simply rushed to kneel by my father's side. He'd stopped seizing, and his eyes seemed more focused than they'd been in a while. Still, he looked so tired…

"Dad…" I whispered, swallowing the tears that wanted to come. "I'm here…"

"My son…" He muttered, moving his hand to take a tight hold of my arm. "My son…"

That was enough to make me finally cry. Never before had he called me those words, not with such feeling. It was all I'd ever wanted, and it had come almost too late.

"I'm sorry, my son…" He told me in a low, pained voice. "I never wanted you to see me like this. Like a…a monster."

I wished I could say something to help him, but I did not know what. Which was why I was so surprised when suddenly I heard Gwen behind me.

"You're not a monster Mr. Osborn." She said in a calm, strong voice.

"Miss Stacy…" He seemed a bit surprised, before his look turned to one of pain again. "I dropped you off the tower, I pretended to kill you…how can you call that not being a monster."

"I can, and I do." She insisted. "Trust me Mr. Osborn, I've seen monsters, you're not one of them. You're simply misguided…I know you've been sick for years, and how bad things got… Well, there was a lot of gossip going around OsCorp when I used to work there."

"I'm sure it's no different now." Peter snorted.

"True." Gwen nodded. "The point is. I'm here, I'm alright. There was no harm done. And I reiterate, you are no monster sir."

I wasn't sure my father fully believed her, hell, I wasn't sure I fully believed her. Still, her intentions were good, and for that I was grateful.

"I know I don't have long left in this world." My dad stated with a sudden and surprising calm. "Maybe if I had accepted that when I was first diagnosed I wouldn't have hurt so many people. But still. At least I am able to do this now, while being in all my senses." He turned to the other side, to where Loki still stood. "I have you to thank for that Mr. Odinson. I have heard of you, you know? You are said to have been connected to the Avengers."

"You're confusing me with my brother." Loki snorted. "Thor is the one actually affiliated to the group, which has proven to be good-for-next-to-nothing with what happened today."

"Still, I know the name Loki Odinson." My father insisted.

"You should say what you need to now, Mr. Osborn." Loki interrupted him. "Your time is coming to an end and it is not in my power to stop death."

Again there was that shadow in Gwen's and Peter's eyes but I didn't have time to linger on that thought, as my father was calling my intention again.

"It's so not fair, that I have to say in a few minutes everything I didn't get to say in so many years." He commented. "On the other hand, I realize just how fortunate I am to even get the chance to say anything at all. By all rights I should have gone insane, should have become a monster once and for all…it would have only ended when Spider-Man killed me." He turned to look at Peter, sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry Peter, both for you and your girlfriend. It was not fair, everything I made you go through."

"It's alright Mr. Osborn." My friend assured my dad. "What's important is that things went alright in the end. I'm only sad we cannot help you more."

"You shouldn't worry about that Peter." My dad shook his head. "For the things I've done I deserve much worse…in the end, you and your girlfriend are the only ones I can try and make amends for, though I'm not sure how successful I will be with so little time."

"Like Peter said, you don't need to worry about anything sir." Gwen reassured him. "You must know, Peter and I aren't new to this 'hero business'. He's been Spider-Man for two years more or less, and I've been by his side since the very beginning. We knew the risks we ran with this life… Every single day we knew there was chance of one day something like what happened in the bridge just today taking place. It's a fact we've long since accepted. I survived today, I may not the next time. Or it may be Peter. It's a hard fact, but still a fact. Comes with being a hero, or in a relationship with one."

"You might have been right when you said only fools become heroes." Peter added. "But if there is one thing my Uncle Ben taught me, it's that with power comes responsibility. I have this power…" He looked down at his own suit. "I have to use it responsibly…"

"You truly are a remarkable man Peter Parker, just as your lady is a remarkable woman." My dad said with a nod. "My son is truly fortunate to be able to count people like the two of you as his friends. I just hope you'll be friends for many years to come."

"Harry is one of my best-friends, sir." Peter stated with a smile. "He will always be able to count on me. That's a promise."

"I may not really know Harry, but still, I will do my best." Gwen added.

"I know you will, thank you." He turned to look on my other side, at MJ. "Miss Watson…oh how I hope you will be able to forgive the terrible words I told you yesterday."

"It's alright Mr. Osborn." Mary Jane, eternally sweet girl she is, assured him immediately. "I know I'm not exactly the kind of match you expected for your son."

"No, exactly the opposite my dear." He assured her. "You're the best kind of match for my son, only not the one I thought would benefit him the most. However, I can see now that he will do much better, live a much happier life with someone that suits his temperament, his mind and heart, and not someone who might just be convenient in the name or the image, or the position." He smiled at MJ. "I hope you don't regret being with my son after all the chaos I've caused."

"I will never regret being with Harry, Mr. Osborn." She assured him with a smile.

"Good, good." He nodded. "It makes me happy to know my son will have someone like you once I am gone from this world."

My breath caught in my throat like that. Despite how little of my father he'd actually been, I was still going to miss him. Mary Jane knelt beside me, embracing me from the side, laying her head on my shoulder, offering all the comfort she could.

"Harry…" My father finally returned his attention to me. "Oh Harry…How I wish I had the time to tell you how proud I am of you, enough time to erase all the damage I know I caused by not saying those words before. Or even better, how I wish I could actually go back in time and undo all the mistakes I've done. But since I can do neither I can only tell you now I truly am proud of you, have always been, and always will be. You are a remarkable man son…"

"I'm just sorry I couldn't be the kind of son you needed me to be…" I told him quietly.

"Nononono…" He shook his head. "That was my mistake son, not yours. You should always be the kind of man you want to be, not what anyone else wants you to be. I made the mistake of believing you could only succeed in life by being like me. I can see the truth now, you would never succeed like that, because there's no success without happiness, and you would never be happy leading a life like mine. And there's nothing wrong with that!" He smiled slightly. "Emily, your mother, she wasn't a scientist. In fact, she was a musician, a British musician in fact, one of the best violinist in the world. I never understood what I did to deserve her affections, and even if our time together was short, those are still the best years I've had in my whole life."

I could only think about that, about my mom, all the things I hadn't known before.

"I'm sorry you never got to truly know your mother Harry, and that I never took the care of making sure you did." My father said, growing pensive for a moment. "When you go back to the penthouse tell Bernard to unseal all the old records, photos and videos, to give you everything concerning your mother. I'm afraid it's the best I can offer you."

"It's enough father." I assured him.

It wasn't, nothing could ever be enough, nothing could possibly take the place of truly knowing your parents…but it was the best I was going to get, and I had to accept that.

"There's just one question I still have left." Dad commented right then, turning back to Loki. "Why help me? It's obvious you know Peter and his girl, and you hate what I did to them. Why then help me?"

"Because I know what it is like to feel your sanity slipping away…" The man, Loki, sounded in so much pain as he said those words.

Then there was the expression in Gwen's face, it was obvious she wanted to embrace Loki, though just by looking at him I knew that wasn't something he would be very keen of, and if she knew him she realized it too; it was probably why she wasn't acting on her feelings, Peter neither.

My dad nodded, it was obvious that in that moment he and Loki understood each other in a way none of us did.

"Oh Harry…I'm so very sorry, for all the years of mistakes, all the time lost." My dad groaned.

"It's alright dad…" I told him, caressing his face.

No, it wasn't alright, it would never be alright. But I still knew how lucky I was to have him in that moment. It was like…someone had said before, under normal circumstances I would have never gotten the chance to say goodbye, or to hear my father actually say he was proud of me. No, if it weren't for Loki things would be very different indeed: Gwen would be dead, Peter would have had to kill my father to end the threat of the Goblin, and what would that have meant for the friendship between the two of us? Would it have ended? Would I have been able to understand things as I do now if I'd had to watch my best-friend kill my dad?

"My time here is coming to an end Harry…" My dad whispered. "I'm sorry, so very sorry we didn't have more time. But there's just two things you need to truly remember: I love you, and I'm so very proud of you my son…Always…"

I couldn't hold my emotions back anymore, I cried.


	4. The Return

This chapter is in 3rd person POV and is meant to wrap up everything as well as to connect with another scene from the upcoming Encore.

* * *

**The Return **

Peter, Gwen, Mary Jane and Harry stayed kneeling or sitting on the stone-cold ground around Norman Osborn's prone form until his eyes finally closed. None of them knew how long it had been, none of them truly cared. Loki just stayed on guard on a corner of the room, watching.

After it was confirmed that the man had died, plans were made to conceal his identity as the Green Goblin, to reveal his death while making sure there would be no negative effects for Harry or Peter. In the end Loki helped them, he teleported Norman's body to the penthouse, his bed, where he would be found the next morning by one of the maids. Then MJ, Gwen and Harry helped to the boys' apartment. Peter threw pieces of the Goblin's armor onto the river to be found by others, then put his mask on and left the tower as Spider-Man to the cheering of the people on the streets. No comments were made about the fact that no one saw the Goblin, or a body… eventually the pieces of armor were found, and the people drew their own conclusions.

The teenagers all spent the night practically camping out in the living room, neither of them wanting to really be alone after the hell of a night they'd had. In the morning, after some basic breakfast Peter and Gwen left for the hospital, as Aunt May was being checked out that morning. Harry and MJ waited until the Osborn's butler: Bernard, phoned Harry to inform him that his father had been found dead that morning, apparently he'd died in his sleep during the night. (There was no reason to suspect anything else, Loki had made sure to erase any and all signs of the fight between him and Spider-Man).

By noon a wake had been arranged. Aunt May, Peter and Gwen arrived together in mourning clothes and kept Harry and MJ company for the rest of the afternoon.

The burial happened on early Sunday morning. It wasn't usual, but still, the Osborn name carried enough power to make it happen. It was no surprise for the teens when they saw how small the number of people present was, and Harry told them that most of them were only there to try and gain his favor as heir to the name, company and fortune. MJ hated all the stuck up people, yet she remained dutifully on his arm through it all as the committed girlfriend she was.

Eventually the whole thing ended and most people left, even Aunt May. She would be staying with Helen Stacy for a while, as the two women were friends and Gwen's mom didn't think May should stay all alone when she was still recovering from the attack from the Goblin. Also, the house was still being repaired, something Harry was secretly paying for, Peter was the only one who knew and decided not to complain as he knew they didn't have the money necessary for such repairs, and Harry had argued it was only fair to pay for it with his father's money since it was his fault anyway.

Once the whole thing was over, Harry and MJ ended up following Peter and Gwen to two different graves: Ben Parker's, and George Stacy's.

"Oh…" Mary Jane gasped as she realized what they were looking at.

"These are our fathers' graves." Gwen stated.

"Uncle Ben may not have been my birth father, but he was more of a father than Richard ever was." Peter clarified.

"I heard once your dad was killed by one of Spider…" MJ stopped mid sentence, eyes wide in shock as she began to comprehend something.

"My dad was killed by one of Spider-Man's enemies, yes, his first big one in fact: the Lizard." Gwen answered quietly.

"That's why you said you understood." Harry realized. "The risks and the consequences. You'd already lived through them…"

"More than once." Gwen admitted quietly.

"Her Dad…" Peter swallowed before he went on. "Captain Stacy was killed by the Lizard for helping me. He was distracting it, giving me a chance to get the antidote in place so it could be shot into the air and cure, not only Dr. Connors but all of those who were affected that night…" He held Gwen tightly. "He was a good and brave man and he died a hero…a real hero, one who needed no masks…"

"You're a good man too Peter." His girlfriend told him. "My father agreed in the end that the city needs you. He liked you…"

"Maybe." The hero just sighed. "I don't know how much he would like me right now considering I broke the promise I made to him."

"He would be, because I'm happy, and in the end all a father wants is for his daughter to be happy, that's what he always said." The blonde insisted.

"Promise?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"When…when he was dying…" Peter explained with some effort. "Captain Stacy said that people would be hurt because of who and what I am, the people closest to me. He wanted me to keep Gwen out of it…" He sighed. "And I tried. I really tried…"

"It didn't work out." Gwen said, a smile beginning to appear on her face.

"It was your fault." Peter pouted, her smile helping him too.

"Really?" Gwen's smile turned mischievous. "Who was it that, when a teacher commented on not making promises that he wouldn't keep, said, and I quote. 'But those are the best kind'? Huh? Got you there!"

"Did you really say something that corny?" Harry asked with an eyebrow raised.

Peter just shrugged.

For a short while not a word was said, then Mary Jane seemed to remember something as she turned to Gwen to ask a question.

"You mentioned someone on the bridge." MJ said quietly. "A Nightingale…who is she?"

"Was." Gwen clarified. "She was a very dear friend…and Loki's wife."

MJ's and Harry's eyes widened at the same time, as they suddenly understood better Loki's more than a bit apathetic demeanor.

"From what we know, Nightingale was a nickname or title of sorts that Loki gave her when she was younger." Peter said. "Her real name was Silbhé Salani and she was a genius, professor in three areas and certified in ten languages at nineteen."

"We knew her for a short time." Gwen continued. "Met her after she turned twenty-one. She and Loki were living in Avengers Tower, she was working as a consultant, due to her extensive knowledge of history, mythology and the way it all related with Asgard; Loki was allied with the Avengers. I think we were two of very few who got along well enough with Loki. Most seemed to have trouble seeing beyond the 'God of Lies and Mischief' title. Since we'd never seen him before it wasn't that hard. Almost everyone in the Tower thought we were crazy or something, except Darcy, she actually liked both Loki and Silbhé. And I think maybe Phil."

"I'm still having some trouble processing the fact that you spent that much time in the Avengers Tower." Harry admitted.

"I was Banner's intern, now I'm his assistant, and Peter was supposed to be an Avenger." Gwen pointed out. "Scratch that, he's still an Avenger. The problem is that the rest of the team have decided to go AWOL. Things went pretty much FUBAR two days ago and they had no idea! We have yet to hear anything about them. Oh…except for my boss asking when I'm going back."

That last sentence killed that line of conversation stone dead, the last thing Peter wanted to think about was when his girlfriend was leaving again, and his friends realized that, so they said nothing about it either.

"Going back to Silbhé and Loki." Gwen stated with a sigh. "There were good friends. An inspiration in so many ways…"

"I still don't see what was so special about them." Harry admitted. "Aside from Loki being a Norse god and all that…"

"It wasn't that at all, actually." Peter shook his head. "It was them, just Silbhé and Loki…I don't know how to explain it right…"

"It was the fact that one was a god and the other a human, and they got along perfectly, they were obviously made for each other." Gwen clarified. "But beyond that. Silbhé was sick, blood cancer, and Loki used his magic to help her stay alive, even though it made him vulnerable in some ways. Also, when so many people just saw Loki as a villain, Silbhé loved him and stood up for him against anyone who might try to bad talk him or anything. The way they were together, it was absolutely amazing…"

"They were an example to follow." Peter agreed.

"If Loki was keeping Silbhé alive with his magic, how did she die then?" MJ asked, confused.

"I suppose you remember the alien invasion in New York." Peter said, not even waiting for an answer before continuing. "I wasn't part of the Avengers yet at the time. Still, I did what I could to help from the fringe. What no one from the public knows, is that that wasn't the last Chitauri attack on Earth. There was another one exactly a year later. The difference was that we were ready for it, and were able to minimize casualties…to be precise there were less than a dozen deaths of agents, an only one civilian…she."

"That battle didn't take place in New York." Harry stated more than asked.

"No, it took place in the New Mexico dessert." Peter explained. "Part of being better prepared was us choosing the battlefield that time. We chose that place to minimize the risk of innocents finding themselves involved as much as possible."

"Then how did she end up involved?" MJ asked, something didn't fit.

For a handful of seconds there was no answer, then, when the eventual answer came, Gwen's voice was low and half-broken.

"It was my fault." She said quietly. "They wanted to keep us, and by us I mean girlfriends and other friends who were not actually Avengers, safe. Loki got us to Salani mansion, Silbhé's family home, which was empty at the time, in fact. We were sent there the night before the battle took place, and were supposed to stay there until we received confirmation that the threat had been dealt with. No one expected the 'threat' to go after us instead." She shook slightly with a harsh sob. "Thanos, the leader of the Chitauri, he was obsessed with Silbhé, claiming that she was the goddess of death or something like that. We tried to get away, but he caught me…and Silbhé turned herself in to him in exchange for my freedom and all of our safety…"

"Oh…" MJ gasped. "That's why you did what you did on the bridge, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't fair that you were being placed in such danger over a mistake." Gwen explained with a sigh. "In the end, it was I that the Goblin wanted…just like back in May it was Nightingale that Thanos truly wanted…"

"What happened then?" Harry asked.

"I don't know." Gwen answered honestly. "Thanos disappeared with Silbhé. Even when we all returned to the Tower, the Avengers never talked about what had happened."

"It was too painful, still is." Peter commented. "I imagine that's the reason why they all left. Even if she wasn't an Avenger herself, she was part of the team, and she died…She died because of Thanos, and none of us could do a thing to save her…it was the realization of how truly useless we can be some times, regardless of any technology, mutation, magic…in the end there are some things we just cannot change or stop…things like dead…" He took a deep breath before clarifying things a bit more. "Thanos appeared with Silbhé in the middle of the dessert. Things went crazy then. There's a lot I don't fully understand. He wanted to use her against Loki, but she wouldn't allow it. She was the only one who could undo the magic Loki had protecting her from the Cancer, and she did. She pretty much killed herself so the mad Titan couldn't use her against the man she loved, or any of us really."

"It was her choice." Gwen added quietly. "She chose to give her life rather than be the cause of her husband's, or someone else's death. Still, it hurt. When we all met in the Tower, when I saw Loki holding her dead body…" She shook her head. "Loki didn't blame me, though I will never understand why. He told me to do something with my life, to make that sacrifice worth it. It's why I've spent all these months doing the best I can, working hard and long…and it took being held by a madman over the edge of a bridge to see all the mistakes I've been making…" She turned to her boyfriend. "I'm not leaving again Peter, I promise. Not without you. I'm not leaving you alone ever again."

Peter smiled brightly at those words, truly the best he could have hoped to ever hear. Nothing could possibly make him happier…well, there was one thing.

He truly, deeply hoped he wasn't making a huge mistake, that still didn't stop what he did next.

"Gwen…" He whispered, before dropping to one knee in front of his girlfriend.

The blonde's breath caught in her throat and, behind them, MJ gasped quietly. Harry didn't say a word, just watched his best-friend kneel before the woman he loved.

"You know you don't have to do this, right?" Gwen asked quietly. "I already promised you I'm staying, and I'm keeping that promise."

"I know, I still want to though." Peter pointed out.

"Very well then, ask me." Gwen smiled at him.

"Gwen Stacy, I choose to ask this question here and now, where I know we'll have some of the most important people in our lives watching." He stated in a serious voice. "I truly hope that, wherever your dad is right now, he will not be cursing me." He smiled. "You're the love of my life, my best friend, my confidant, my perfect match…would you make me the happiest man in this realm and marry me?"

Gwen had thought the whole thing was just a spur of the moment; and maybe actually proposing in a cemetery, right after Norman Osborn's funeral, was a spur of the moment; but the decision itself to propose to her, even possibly to do it that very day, certainly wasn't, as Peter proved the moment he brought a small black velvet box out of a pocket in his jacket.

"I know it's not much but…" He stammered a bit as he popped the box open.

"Peter! It's beautiful!" Gwen assured him.

"I remember how you said a few times how beautiful a tradition the claddagh ring, and that you liked the design of the tattoo Loki and Silbhé had." Peter shrugged slightly.

The ring was a normal gold band, and it had a claddagh design: hands, crown and heart. The heart was in fact a diamond, small, but still quite beautiful. Gwen could only begin to imagine how much it had taken Peter to save to get that ring made, because she seriously didn't think jewelries in New York sold that kind of design.

"I love it!" Gwen practically squealed at the ring, it was so beautiful.

With a bright smile at the knowledge his love truly liked the ring, Peter took it from the box and slowly placed it on the right finger.

"I love you Peter!" Gwen cried out, jumping into his arms, kissing him full on the mouth. "And yes…I would love to marry you."

It was as if the answer flipped a switch. Peter jumped onto his feet, still with Gwen in his arms and proceeded to twirl while holding her up. Their laughs could be heard all throughout the graveyard (which was, thankfully, empty, most people probably wouldn't understand teenagers laughing in what was supposed to be a place of mourning). Eventually Peter let Gwen back onto her feet, only to kiss her again. In that moment he was absolutely, perfectly happy.

Harry and MJ just watched them, hands intertwined. They knew that if someone deserved all the happiness in the world it was those two. After the hell they'd gone through in that Bridge Tower, they truly deserved nothing but happiness. Still, with Peter being a superhero and Gwen his fiancée and to-be-wife; it was likely that more hard times were in store for them. The two friends just hoped they would be able to remain together through it all. They also hoped they might one day be able to achieve that same happiness themselves…maybe even together.

**xXx**

May and Helen were delighted about their children getting engaged, though not so much when the two told them they hadn't actually set a date for the wedding yet. Simon, Henry and Howard already loved Peter, and while they were w bit put out that their sister wouldn't go back to living with them and instead would be moving in with Peter now that she was finally back in the country, they were still happy for the couple.

Harry had moved out of the loft and back to the penthouse to have more control of things. Still, he'd refused to allow Peter to give up on the loft, particularly when he discovered that his father had bought it at some point. He just put the lease in Peter's name and told him to consider it an engagement present for him and Gwen, after all, the two of them needed a place where to live, at least while they went to college, and while the apartment wasn't particularly big, it was good enough for their current necessities.

In the next few days the teens heard from the Osborn team of lawyers. While almost everything was left to Harry, with a proviso of who was to act as CEO of OsCorp until Harry was ready for the position. Then there was the account Harry had found, where Norman had placed all of Peter's rent payments. Apparently the man had planned to give it all back to Peter at some point, so Harry did exactly that.

The man had really just been trying to look out for Peter in an odd, but not necessarily bad, way. Peter could still remember how Mr. Osborn had offered him all kind of scholarships the day he graduated valedictorian; according to him, Peter deserved the best. Only, he already had it, the full scholarship at least was one thing that hadn't disappeared when the Avengers had. It was a good thing, otherwise Peter had no idea how he would have ever been able to go into college, lest of all with such specific majors like biochemistry and engineering, as well as a minor in genetics. (Gwen was studying biochemistry and genetics, with a minor in Psychiatry).

Weeks passed like that, and months. The four close friends as well as Aunt May and the Stacy family had the occasion to celebrate together things like Christmas, New Year and the like. Then the teens went back to ESU, with Gwen taking a full course load this time, she'd e-mailed her resignation letter to her bosses the very day Peter had proposed. The two had a lot of classes together, and with Harry too, who was majoring in business (deciding that even if he didn't know as much of science as others he could still handle the administrative side of OsCorp himself); he also had a double minor: music (because he loved it and to have a connection to his mom) and basic sciences (so he at least had an idea of what was being done by OsCorp).

MJ for her part had finally gotten a part in a play. It wasn't Broadway just yet, and it was a somewhat small part, but still a good beginning anyway.

The two couples remained a very tightly knit group. The surprise came, halfway through January, when Peter and Gwen arrived to the group Saturday lunch carrying an invitation they'd just found in the mail. An invitation to a party taking place in two weeks in an undisclosed address.

"What does this have to do with us?" MJ asked, confused.

"There was a note attached to the invitation, announcing that you two were welcome to come if you wanted." Gwen pointed out.

"From what we can gather from the invitation, whoever is organizing it, means this party to be only for those who are 'in the know' of certain events and things." Peter added. "We know that because the attached note also said it was only to be the four of us."

"How are we supposed to get to a party when we don't know where it's taking place?" Harry asked, extremely confused about the whole thing.

"Magic." Gwen answered simply. "And I do mean that literally."

"There's magic on the invitation." Peter clarified. "I can sense it. It's all not just any magic, but Loki's. We can most likely expect him to pick us up and take us to wherever this party is."

"You can feel magic?" Harry was interested.

"It's part of the spider-sense." Peter nodded.

Ever since the two of them had found out about Peter being Spider-Man he'd been much more open about the realities of his powers and his superhero identity. It had made them a lot closer as friends, though Peter certainly made sure that they never forgot the kind of danger they were permanently in just for knowing. It wasn't as bad as Gwen, since she was his actual love interest, future wife, and no one would be able to guess if anyone else knew the truth about Peter or not. Still, they knew already, that couldn't be done, and even if magic could do it, Peter would never ask that of Loki.

"I'm still on the 'magic exists' thing." MJ admitted, then she seemed to think of something. "Wait, if you can trace the invitation back to Loki, why do you say you don't know who is organizing the party?"

"Loki and party?" Gwen shook her head.

"Still, it is somewhat telling." Peter continued. "Since he wouldn't do this kind of favor for just anyone, which means that the person organizing this party is, most likely, one of two, maybe three people: Darcy Lewis is the prime candidate, as she is actually Loki's friend, then there's Jane Foster, Thor's girlfriend and Loki's almost-sister-in-law, and maybe, maybe Tony Stark… though, to be honest, I'm quite sure that if he were the one throwing this party, he would be making sure we all knew it, not the other way around."

"Are you sure it is a good idea for us to, well, go to this party?" Harry asked, confused. "It sounds a bit exclusive to me."

"You can consider it quite exclusive, but it's one exclusive group that you're already a part of." Gwen pointed out. "Really, among all the Avengers the only one bothering to keep his identity a secret is right here, and you know him."

"It will be alright." Peter reassured them. "You were invited. So, unless you don't want to attend for whatever the reason, it's alright for you to be there."

**xXx**

In the end MJ and Harry decided to attend. On the Sunday of all four of them were dressed in nice clothes (though not too formal). They were all standing in a circle, holding the invitation in between them to have it act as an anchor.

"I wonder if this is how everyone in Harry Potter feels?" MJ commented at some point. "I mean, isn't this kind of like what they do when they're going to apparate or something?"

"It's what they do when they're going to use a portkey." Harry corrected his girlfriend. "They apparate by turning in place, or something like that."

So Harry was a Harry Potter fan, who would have thought? He said it was because he wanted to stand up for his namesake. The girls claimed that was a ridiculous excuse, didn't change the fact that Harry really liked both the books and the movies.

"Guys, hold on tight." Peter warned them when he felt the magic rise.

They all could feel their feet leaving the floor and as if they were floating for a few seconds. Then they found themselves standing once again, though in a place entirely different. It took her a second but soon Gwen realized they were in the foyer of a house she knew very well…

"We're in Salani mansion…" She commented in confusion. "Why are we here?"

They turned around to see all of those they were expecting to be there: Tony, Pepper, Happy, Bruce, Clint, Natasha, Phil, etc. Most looking as confused as them. Until the attention was called to the back of the main room.

"Welcome!" It was Loki, standing right past the glass doors to the huge backyard and garden. "This way please everyone."

They followed, discovering the garden had been arranged with chairs, a buffet table, etc.

"Just what kind of party is this?" Tony asked loudly at some point. "And who decided it was a good idea for the Trickster to organize it."

"I was personally asked to do so." Loki answered with an almost-too-bright smile. "And about what kind of party it is. It's a birthday party!"

The gasp was general as a number of people froze on their spots, suddenly remembering just whose birthday it would be that day. Someone would have complained already about Loki making a bad joke, if it weren't for the fact that they all knew if someone would never joke about that birthday or a party that day, it would be him. So what was going on then?

Gwen was only half aware when she saw Jane and Thor joining the main group, entering the backyard from a different door than they had. They seemed to be the only ones, other than Loki himself, not frozen at the mention of the reason for the party.

"You really shouldn't enjoy torturing this much Loki." Jane commented off-handedly.

"Ah…but I was told this was the only moment I would have to make fun of them all day, so I had to make the most of it." Loki pointed, before laughing.

Peter and Gwen really didn't understand what was going on, and apparently neither did anyone else present, except for Loki, Thor, and possibly Jane.

"Just whose birthday is today?" Harry asked his two best friends in a whisper.

"Silbhé's." Peter answered just as quietly.

At that answer Harry and MJ suddenly understood the quiet.

"Very well, ruin my fun then." Loki said, as if answering something someone else had said.

Before anyone could comment on his words everyone's attention was drawn to the figure that had just stepped around a huge lavender tree. She was wearing a lilac pleated goddess dress with no sleeves and a white sash marking her waist. She wore white sandals on her feet and her only pieces of jewelry were triquetra earrings, a pendant of a bird hanging from her neck, and a white-gold circlet that looked like a flowery vine across her forehead. There were a few lavender flowers attached to her long auburn curls, probably fallen from the tree while she waited behind for her moment to step out.

The moment everyone's eyes laid on her the silence became so thick it could have been cut with even the dullest knife.

A handful of seconds later, the screaming began:

"Silbhé!"

It was her, Silbhé Salani, she was back…

It was the greatest miracle possible…

The Nightingale had returned…

* * *

This is over now, hope you all enjoyed it!

Next week: Nightingale's Encore (a very, very long Encore... might include something about Iron Man 3, I'm still making up my mind on that).


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